The Ministry of Education said it will be investigating claims of extortion by personnel of some primary schools in rural communities.

In a Government Information Agency (GINA) press release Minister of Education Shaik Baksh said parents of students at some Linden, Region Ten schools had reported that teachers had demanded money from them as a condition for entry to school or for sitting examinations.

It was reported that students were required to pay as much as $300 to receive examination papers. GINA said the Watooka Primary School was one of the schools named in the complaint. The minister said a significant portion of the National Budget is spent on education so additional economic burdens should not be passed on to students. He said last year $176B was allocated to the education sector, which included the cost of various stationery items, and the ministry abolished the collection of contingency fees.

The ministry is launching a formal investigation into the complaints and parents are urged to desist from making such payments. Baksh also said that such occurrences should be reported to the regional education officer.