Increase in school fees not justified

MY CHILDREN have been studying in a private school in the capital that lacks basic infrastructure required for the all-round development of a child.

There is no proper playground and there is poor children-to-teacher ratio.

The school has however expanded significantly, to cope up with the increasing demand.

One can only wonder whether all the extensions made are in line with the building by-laws and more importantly in compliance with the Bomba’s requirement.

One can only hope that there will be no incidence of fire at the premises, particularly the Secondary block, as the consequences could be devastating.

They also have an inadequate number of toilets given the number of students. I have noticed myself and have been informed by my children that most of the times there is no hand sanitiser in the toilets.

What is generally available is a watered down liquid which is in no way good enough to wash germs away. The toilets are so poorly maintained that my children avoid using them.

The less said about the faculty the better. Almost all students need tuition.

There is also no parking space within the school premises.

The parking is barely sufficient for the school staff to park their cars.

As if the above were not bad enough the school has sent a notice to increase the school fees by approximately 20 per cent!

As a parent working in the private sector I find that the increase in the fees is not warranted as the school has not committed to providing any substantial improvement.

In fact the current fee structure should be reviewed and compared with other private schools operating in Brunei.

I would like to kindly request the MoE to look into the objective of the school fee increase.

- A Concerned Parent, BSB