…Mae’s gives parents until April 30 to respond to hike in school fees

MAE’S Schools continues to deny parents a meeting to discuss their massive hike in tuition fees and has now given parents April 30 as a deadline for saying whether or not their children will continue at the school in the new term.

Parents are unsure what their next move should be. Instead of moving their children to a different school, many of them are hoping that a decision will be taken to reduce the fees when the Ministry of Education meets with the school again in two weeks.
Parents were not told exactly when the meeting between the two parties would take place and if that date will run into the new month, by which time the deadline for responding will have expired.

The ministry had reported that it had “fruitful” discussions with the school’s administrators and that a decision agreeable to both the school and parents would be worked out.
The school is now essentially asking parents to ‘pay or leave.’ “Your failure to complete and return this letter will result in the assumption that your child/ward will not be continuing when the new school year commences in September 2018,” read a letter dated to parents April 11, 2018.

“Your compliance with the above-named advice (to respond by April 30) will ensure your child/ward’s advancement to the next level at Mae’s,” the letter said.
Parents are now saying that should they respond in the affirmative, the school can continue to argue against decreasing the fees when it meets back with the ministry, citing parents’ willingness to keep their children there despite the announced increases.
One parent, a member of Facebook’s “Mae’s Parent Group,” said last February 26, she had received a letter asking if she was interested in allowing her child to move on to Grade One, the deadline being March 23, 2018.

“Today (April 13), my child has once again received the same letter dated April 11 and the deadline is April 30. This sends a very clear message: my failure to respond would mean I am not interested; if I respond, it means I am willing to pay $75,000; they have no intention of dropping the fees; and my failure to respond can also mean my child can be disbarred from attending the school,” the parent expressed.

Another parent commented: “It is clear that they have no intention of meeting or reconsidering their fees. Even though there was hype about the meeting with the officials from (the ministry), there were absolutely no detais pertaining to what had transpired in that meeting. My gut feeling is that the school wouldn’t budge and there is nothing that the [ministry] can do about it.”

Andrea Bryan-Garner, who formed the Facebook Group, said she sent a final request to Mae’s on Friday for a meeting to be called.
“In light of the negative media coverage and picketing exercise on the issue of hiked fees, the members of the Mae’s Parents Group would like to know if the school’s administration is at all willing to have a meeting with affected parents and/or if parent representatives of the group can be present at the next Ministry of Education’s meeting with the school,” Bryan-Garner wrote.

She added: “We would also like to discuss forming a PTA if none exists. Kindly let us know the procedure to do so. We believe as the sole contributors of income to the school, your consumer, we should at least be given a forum for face-to-face discussion and negotiation.
“We feel as if we are being treated unfairly when our initial request for a meeting was ignored, as if we are all replaceable, and we do not believe this is good customer service. Some parents have already indicated they are looking for other schools which seem to be the message being communicated to us — pay or leave.”