Monrovia – Amidst cries from parents on the astronomical increase of fees at private schools, Latim Dathong, the Deputy Minister for Instruction at the Ministry of Education says parents who are finding it difficult to send their children/wards to private schools because of the high fees should send them to public schools.
Speaking Thursday at the MICAT regular press briefing the Deputy Education Minister told parents that the ball is in their courts to afford the huge costs at the private schools or transfer their children to public schools.
Deputy Minister Dathong added: “It is your choice to take your children to private schools. Nobody forces you, you do it voluntarily.”
According to the Deputy Minister for Instruction, unlike public schools, the government does not have that legal responsibility to regulate the activities of private schools across the country.
“There is nothing under the law of the Republic of Liberia that gives the Ministry of Education the right to regulate private schools,” the Deputy Education Minister said.
Dathong added: “We don’t have the power to tell private schools how much to charge, no law gives us that power. We are citizens of law. We are not going to supersede our authorities.”
He says the Ministry of Education will only act when the 2011 law restricting the government from regulating private schools is amended.