The legislation is in the final stages
The new legislation of Ireland will make it necessary for the school to confer parents before considering the raise in fees. The law will help to decrease back to school costs, as promised by the Minister of Education Joe McHugh.
As the survey done by charity Barnardos points out, the parents are worried, overwhelmed and annoyed with the huge expenses of sending children back to school.
The charity suggested that the Government might consider making school books in all primary schools free, which will only cost 0.2 % of the annual education budget. Mr. McHugh acknowledged and said, “The government is committed to tackling back-to-school costs.”
The intention is to cut the cost of education
The minister pressed the point that the administration is in the final stages of publishing the Student and Parents charter Bill, which will bring much-needed transformation in the school’s engagement with children and their parents.
McHugh said, “One of its key initiatives will be to allow students and mothers and father have a say on many aspects of life in a school. Costs will be a significant topic. The legislation will require schools to consult with students and parents, and invite them to offer feedback on the issues such as costs and suggest changes to help reduce expenses.”
Last year 17 million Euros were given as a fund to support the book scheme. The purpose of the grant was to aid the students who belonged to low income families and facing financial difficulties.
The minister also told that the money can be utilized to arrange a rental system for the books within the schools or to help each student to buy books. The schools are welcomed to run such schemes.
The provision for the scheme is around 56 million Euros for this year. The amount will be given to 145,000 families. The scheme will provide economical education to 266,000 children across the country. The adjustment in the income slab has been made to increase the social welfare payment rate so that it does not affect people adversely.
