AT LEAST two of the more than 50 independent schools operating without registering with the Ministry of Education could be shutdown by the Ministry, if they fail to honour notices of complaints currently being prepared against them.
Freda Jones, Registrar of Independent Schools in the Ministry of Education, told The Gleaner Wednesday that the notices would be served on School of Excellence and 'Mr. Hutton'. Both institutions, she said, have ignored numerous requests to regulate their operations.
Further investigations by The Gleaner revealed that the four-year-old Institute of Academic Excellence (IAE), which operates on Hagley Park Road in St. Andrew, has also been violating the registration regulations.
REASON FOR DELAY
However, Mr. Martin, proprietor of IAE, said he intends to register his firm within the next two weeks. He said he had delayed because he felt the Education Ministry would not have approved the previous Central Plaza location. Questioned whether the same conditions exist for his current location, he said he has "not found the time" to register the school.
Efforts to contact the proprietor of Mr. Hutton and School of Excellence were unsuccessful.
NOTICES ISSUED
Mrs. Jones said last year, the Ministry served more than 20 notices of complaints on independent schools for, among other things, operating without registering with the Ministry; sub-standard teaching/learning conditions; improper facilities and the unavailability of necessary records. However, she said the majority of the notices were issued because the institutions were not registered.
Figures provided by the Ministry indicate that 155 and 141 independent schools at the primary and secondary/vocational levels respectively are registered, while approximately 50 applications are being processed.
Under the Education Act of 1965, independent schools which fail to register with the Ministry shall be found guilty of an offence. Mrs. Jones said a submission has been made for a review of the Act to increase the penalties.
She stressed that it was important that persons attending independent institutions confirm with the Ministry whether they were registered "otherwise the Ministry cannot act on their behalf if there are any irregularities at the schools".
As for students reading for diploma and associate degree programmes at independent schools, she said their certificates are deemed invalid if the University Council of Jamaica does not accredit the institutions.
