Schools soliciting money from students should be reported to the Education Ministry

Financial Management Module 5


The following article appeared in the Guyana Chronicle on 20th October 2008. It is highly relevant to the content of Module 5 "Financial Management". Please take note.

Schools soliciting money from students should be reported to the Education MinistryMinister of Education, Shaik Baksh, has announced that parents should inform the Ministry of situations where schools are requesting monetary donations from students.

Minister Baksh made this statement Thursday at his Ministry on Brickdam.
The Minister said that these complaints should be made to the Regional Education Officers so that investigations could be launched.

Minister Baksh referred to a circular which was sent out earlier this year to school administrators on the subject of ‘Procedures in relation to the acquisition and expenditure of non-budgetary funds (including contingency funds) and donations.’

According to the current circular, “No headteacher nor member of the staff is authorised to request parents to supply schools with toilet tissue, soap, paper for typing and printing, inter alia.”

It further stipulates that, “No headteacher nor member of the staff is authorised to charge what is called ‘Contingency Fund’ as a condition for admission into school or for any other reason whatsoever.”

Furthermore, “No headteacher is allowed to keep any non-budgetary funds in his/her possession, nor on his/her own authority, permit any teacher to do so” and “no headteacher nor member of the staff is authorised to solicit any donation, whether monetary or material in nature, from any parent, member of the community, private or public agency, or any source which may be available.”

The Ministry states that donations must be made voluntarily and should be given without conditions. These donations, including cash and kind, must be properly recorded by the school. Letters of thanks should be sent to the donors and copies should be kept on file by the school. These donations must be related to the Head of Department of Education within seven working days.

Also, “all non-budgetary funds must be acquired through the aegis of the PTA.”
Three procedures are stipulated in the circular to acquire funds under the Parent Teachers Association (PTA). One is that the Executive Committee of the school be requested by the Chairman of the Management Committee to meet and discuss management issues of the school. The headteacher may approach the Executive Committee if a Management Committee is not in existence. Decisions taken must be accepted by a majority at the next meeting of members.

The circular stipulates that “decisions of the Executive Committee concerning financial matters should only be implemented immediately, in the case of an urgent matter, pending ratification of the general membership. However, these will be few in a well managed school.”

Another procedure for acquiring funds under the PTA is that all funds must be collected by the Treasurer at the first convenient opportunity and receipts must always be given for monies donated and schools must keep duplicates.

In relation to sanctions, the circular states that “headteachers indulging in acts that contravene this circular will be charged for insubordinate conduct and will be placed before the ‘Disciplinary Committee’ of the Teaching Service Commission to answer such charges. Any Education Officer found guilty of condoning the head teachers’ illegal behaviour will be disciplined by the Public Service Commission.”

This circular is pertinent to concerns that were recently raised with regard to schools soliciting money from students. It firmly states the Education Ministry’s procedures in relation to the acquisition and expenditure of non-budgetary funds which include contingency funds and donations.

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