The administration of School of Nations has revealed that fees are likely to be increased in the near future. This would make School of Nations the second privately run school to hike its fees, after Mae’s Schools recently announced a similar move.
This announcement was made by the Director of the institution, Dr Brian O’Toole, who explained that with the growing economy and increased costs of production and services, the need has arisen to implement the increase. The fees currently been charged are also considered very low when compared to other institutions.
School of Nations
“It’s likely that we will review the fees, because if we want the best possible education, we charge at the moment $1200 (US). In international terms, that’s a very low figure. We want to make sure we offer it to as wide a cross section as possible,” he stated.
Dr O’Toole further explained that the fees would not be hiked to an extent that would force students of the institution to leave. If the fees are increased, the director assured, students will still be able to complete their studies.
Dr O’Toole added, “We’re going to look at making it a balance between ensuring we can get the best quality and making sure that we respect the reality of the pockets of Guyana.”
Recently, Mae’s Schools hiked their fees by 40 percent, despite the Government’s removal of the 14% Value Added Tax (VAT) on education during the 2018 budget. As such, parents are in disapproval of this sudden increase.
Dr O’Toole has reiterated that the fees being requested at the School of the Nations will certainly not be as much as 40 percent, as consideration must be given to not only the individuals from whose pockets the monies are extracted, but also the school’s perspective that approximately 60 students are presently studying through a scholarship.
“Nations is looking at it. We will not increase fees by the extent. We will not increase our fees by 40 percent. For all the fancy cars you see in the car park, we have other people that walk here, people that come by bicycle, and they have enriched the school and we want to make sure that they stay, so we certainly aren’t going to price them out of coming,” the director said.
The institution has revealed that with the growing population of over 3000 students, the school is looking to establish other centres in the North West District and in the Rupununi, to assist the other regions.
