Minister: Schools can't force parents to pay donations

Figures from the Ministry of Education show that despite tougher financial times, parents and communities contributed $712.8 million in 2008. Photo / Greg Bowker

Schools must make it clear to parents that donations are voluntary, says Education Minister Anne Tolley.

The Weekend Herald revealed that parents and communities propped up schools throughout the country to the tune of $700 million last year.

And 24 schools have been caught by the Education Review Office making them pay more than they legally have to for their children's education.

Mrs Tolley said schools could not force parents into providing these donations to boost their state funding.

"I am not prepared to condone excessive or misleading demands made by schools to parents, and I'm concerned about any unacceptable financial practices that come to my attention," she said.

During the past 20 months, Education Review Office inspectors have caught 24 primary, intermediate and secondary schools asking for payments which they believe go too far above what schools are allowed to charge, the Sunday Star-Times reported yesterday.

Inspectors found 11 schools called donations "fees" or "term payments", or did not make it clear that donations were voluntary.

Nine schools were found to be charging a photocopying fee.

Four schools were charging parents for their children's access to the curriculum, and a fifth was charging for extra tuition in maths and classes for gifted and talented children, the newspaper said.

One was charging for overdue library books, and another for internet access. Three schools were charging more for enrolment in digital classrooms, where children worked on laptops instead of using pens and paper.

Last year, schools made $712.8 million in locally raised funds from parents' pockets, international student fees and investment income.

More than 150 state and integrated schools raised over $1 million and 15 of the top 25 schools - ranked according to the amount of money each raised - came from Auckland.

Sacred Heart College topped the list with $6,377,422 raised, while seven other Auckland schools were in the top 10.

Mrs Tolley said many parents were willing to contribute to the donation requests made by schools.

"I recognise that these contributions help many schools provide a wider range of education experiences for their pupils," she said.

The Education Ministry is unable to punish any of the schools involved because while the law entitles every child aged 5 to 19 to a free education, it does not set out any specific rules about what schools are allowed to charge for. Mrs Tolley said only 24 of New Zealand's 2500 schools were charging inappropriately.

She said parents should contact their school's board of trustees if they thought they were being over-charged. They would then be entitled to make a complaint to the Education Ministry.

- NZPA