Government allows a 15 percent rise in fees charged by private schools for the new academic year

Caracas Daily Journal (Jeremy Morgan): The government allowed a 15 percent rise in fees charged by private schools for the new academic year but wouldn't budge in the face of complaints that this would barely cover the cost of a pay rise for teachers. Education Minister Hector Navarro told state news agency ABN that anything more would be "inadmissible" after a chorus of complaints.

The National Federation of Parents’ and Representatives’ Societies claimed the measure implementing the increase had been "improvised." The Venezuelan Chamber of Private Education (Cavep) accused the government of trying to weaken the private education sector in the country. It noted that the minimum legal wage had been raised by 30 percent this year.

Tempers weren't soothed by the knowledge that this was the fourth year running the government has regulated private education fees. The increase was authorized by a decree jointly issued by the Commerce and Light Industries Ministry and the Education Ministry. The decree stipulated any increase would have to be approved by school assemblies of parents and guardians, and that no more than 15 percent would be permitted.

"Education is not a product traded in a market," Navarro declared on state television channel VTV. "It's a fundamental human right established in the Bolivarian Constitution of Venezuela. The attendance of your children at school cannot be subordinated to who pays or doesn't pay a contribution."