A father has questioned the National government about the so called free education as part of its policy in education.
In a visit to the Solomon Star on Saturday, Danny Laedi from Mono, Shortland islands said he heard of the so called free education policy by the government but has not felt it.
Laedi said when he was a student attending school, the school fees was not as expensive but now as a parent, it is very difficult for him.
“Now the school fees are very expensive compared to our time but the government has done nothing about it, though it talks about free education,” he said.
“We expect to see our MPs do their best to help us but instead they only support their voters.
“The government through responsible authorities should consider this by reducing the school fees to cater for all parents,” he added.
He said the donors like New Zealand and Japan have assist schools with funds and building projects but the government has done nothing to reduce the cost of education.
Mr Laedi said even their Member of Parliament both the current and the past have done nothing to help the struggling school fee payers.
“During their visit to our constituency, they only talked about the Rural Constituency Development Fund (RCDF) and distribute projects to their supporters,” he said.
He said when elections coming up, he has to go back to his constituency like many others do with a purpose to elect leaders who can bring change but when they are elected, nothing changes.
He then call on the government to rethink of its education priorities and start looking at reducing the cost so that many children who are left out because of school fees barriers can attend school.
“Education is the key for our children and their future and so the government should ensure to address all the barriers to education such as school fees so that every child must attend to school regardless of their family background,” he added.
By IAN M.KAUKUI
