Parents worried about value for money

–as private schools cash in on COVID-19 arrangements with offer of generous discounts

By Tamica Garnett

WITH the announcement that schools will remain closed indefinitely, even as the new school terms begins, both the private and public school systems are working to put improvised structures in place to ensure continued learning even as the students remain at home.

At some private schools, management have been utilising interactive learning platforms such as Zoom, Edmodo, Google Meetings, Google Classroom and Abeka Academy, as well as social media platforms such as Whatsapp.
However, some parents with children at those schools are questioning the feasibility of those arrangements, as they do not believe they are getting value for their money.

GENEROUS DISCOUNTS
Several private schools have announced discounts in light of the new arrangements. In the city, the New Guyana School and Mae’s Schools earlier this week announced a 20 per cent discount on their fees, while Premier Academy over on the West Bank Demerara is offering a 35 per cent cut for the current term.

School of the Nations, on the other hand, is offering a discount of between 12 – 50 per cent, according to Dr. Brian O’Toole, the school’s Director.
However, some parents are not entirely pleased with the programmes being offered at the price at which they come.

“We’re not getting 80 per cent quality work, so if you have to pay 80 per cent of the school fees, that’s not fair,” said one parent with two children at Mae’s Schools, where fees are $90,000 and $100,000 per term per child respectively.
And neither does she believe that Mae’s is doing enough by way of offering a comprehensive alternative to the regular classroom sessions.

“At the primary level, you don’t get daily work,” she said. “There’s no classroom; no interaction. Just a sheet of paper with 60-something questions, and a sheet of paper with 40-something questions; they’re not even spending half the amount of time with the students. A teacher comes Online and spends two minutes to post work, and then you don’t see that teacher again until the next session… But the timetable has the teacher down for a double period,” the concerned parent noted.
Another parent with a child at Premier Academy noted that while the teacher has created a Whatsapp group with the children’s parents, and has been sending them regular worksheets, she is not at all happy with the payment arrangements, as she does not feel she is getting value for the price the school is asking. She pays $35,000 per term under normal circumstances.

“For this month,” she said, “we are paying 65 per cent, but they said it will start back full-time from next month. I don’t agree with the reduction; last month we had to pay 65 per cent for only 10 days of school.”

A CONSUMER AFFAIRS MATTER
Consumer Affairs Officer at the Competitions and Consumer Affairs Commission (CCAC), Feona Austin-Paul, says that the issue does qualify as a consumer issue, and notes that parents concerned about not getting their money’s worth can make a report to the Commission.

“We would just have to carry out an investigation to look at what is being offered, and what should have been offered and all the different logistics,” Austin said, adding: “But, it’s a service, so it would be a ‘Consumer Affairs’ matter.”

She noted, however, that it is not within the CCAC’s remit to mandate private schools to offer reduced fees in cases where classes and services are being offered.
At the New Guyana School and School of the Nations, notwithstanding a reduction in fees, both schools have put in place daily Online classes, with continuous work.
At the New Guyana School, the arrangements include worksheets being sent home every two weeks, with live classes being conducted via the Google Meet platform, and timetables being posted. Classes are conducted daily, from 08:30hrs to 13:00hrs for the K4 and K5 levels, while the Primary and High School work from 08:30hrs to 15:30hrs.
“The biggest challenge is we are not used to using technology to deliver and receive education, so the first few days are going to be challenging,” said ‘New Guyana’ Director, Alfonso De Armas.

He said, however, that the school had been working with the teachers to ensure they are up to speed with the new method.
“Since we closed, we’ve been doing training with them to prepare them for this. It has been a learning curve; some teachers, especially the younger generation, have proved quick learners, but we find that other teachers have had a little bit of a challenge in adapting,” De Armas shared.
He said that notwithstanding the reduction in fees, the school has taken a decision to not reduce salaries or terminate any of its employees.
“We’re absorbing the 20 per cent; we’re trying hard not to pass it on, or reduce staff salaries and such,” he said, adding: “Obviously, for some teachers, like our Physical Education teachers, it’s a challenge, so we’re still trying to figure out how to make the best use of our extracurricular teachers.”

TEACHER TRAINING
At School of the Nations, Dr. O’Toole said they used the Easter holidays to train teachers to conduct classes Online. The school invested in a number of paid Zoom accounts to arrange the system, and according to Dr. O’Toole, attendance has been very high; between 70 to 80 per cent.

He noted that the school has been getting a lot of positive reviews from parents on the system that has been implemented.
“The technology is brilliant; I’m so impressed with it. It’s also recorded, so the parent can then go on later on in the day,” he noted.

Some private schools, however, have not yet indicated their plans for the new term, or whether or not parents would be required to pay the full fees.

In cases where schools have not yet implemented an alternative programme, parents are making the best they can with the situation of working at home with their children.
“We have to do what we have to; I get to spend more time with my son, and teach him myself. So I’m comfortable until further notice; most importantly, he gets more ‘mommy time’,” said one parent with a five-year-old at Green Acres, where she pays $54,000 per term.

At Genesis, at least one parent said she’s awaiting word on the way forward for that institution as well.

“I am not sure the school has done anything other than arrange for parents to uplift their children’s Abeka workbooks. However, my son’s K4 teacher gives parents weekly guidance, via WhatsApp, as to what lessons to work for the week. She is also available for questions parents may have when working with their children. However, they have not communicated anything about payment to us as yet; I asked the teacher, but even she doesn’t know,” the parent noted.
She has a four-year-old son at the school, where she pays $48,000 per term.

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