Schools requiring students to have their notes photocopied in the school premises were not expected to charge students.

This was the advice by the Attorney-General and Minister for Economy  Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum at Vashist Muni College, in Navua,  yesterday during  the 2018-2019 Budget Consultation.

Vashist Muni College students asked Mr Sayed-Khaiyum if schools were allowed to charge students for photocopying their own notes.

The school is alleged to have been charging students 20 cents for a page.

Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said if there were notes that teachers required the students to photocopy then it would be at the cost of the school, not the students.

“You should not be paying for that. If you go outside the school then obviously you pay for that. Generally whatever photocopy is required by the school, you should not be paying for that,” he said.

Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said he would be looking into this to get the full picture.

In another matter, a student asked Mr Sayed-Khaiyum to look into the policies given by the school regarding rules on hairstyles and the type of shoes that is allowed to be worn to school.

The students said dissatisfaction often led their peers to enrol in other schools.The Vashist Muni Colege students asked Mr Sayed-Khaiyum if the government could make a single set of rules for students in regards to dress codes and hairstyles in schools.

Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said a lot of schools had their own management and requirements, some were faith-based schools that had their own set of rules. “Recently we have given out some guidelines in respect of what people could wear, like the crucifix that’s there right, scarfs on their head, or bangles for Sikhs,’’ he said.

“But government doesn’t want to be overly prescriptive of how students should dress, it depends on the individual schools but if it infringes upon students’ fundamental rights then government can step in.’’

Edited by George Kulaniwasa

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