Complaint about the decision of a Board of Trustees to compulsorily charge for curriculum-related items

Summary

The complainant is a parent of secondary school students. In 2011, the complainant raised concerns the school was imposing compulsory charges for:

• photocopying;

• food items; and

• workbooks.

The complainant drew to the school’s attention the provisions of section 3 of the Education Act 1989 which guarantees the provision of a free education, complaining that the charges contravened it. The complainant further relied on the Ministry of Education’s Education circular 1998/25: Payments by parents of students at state schools (the circular)[1] which provides guidance on the payments schools may require.

My conclusion is that, in imposing compulsory charges for workbooks and any other curriculum-related materials, the Board of Trustees:

• has acted in a manner that appears to have been contrary to law as its actions contravene section 3 of the Education Act 1989.

• has acted unreasonably in this matter, in that it is refusing to apply the advice of the Ministry as set out in Education circular 1998/25; and has charged the complainant for curriculum-related material that he was lawfully entitled to have provided to his children free of charge.