Free education from preschool to sixth form - it's one of the major planks of the PUP Power to the People Manifesto. And while it looks good on paper - is it realistic? The leader of the opposition - himself a former education minister says it is eminently so; not surprisingly, the current minister doesn't agree:..
Francis Fonseca, PUP Party Leader
"For example free education from Pre-school to 6th form. When I was the minister of education I carried that analysis already of what it would cost. It would cost about 3 million dollars more at the primary school level, about 8 million dollars at high school and around 12 million dollars at the tertiary level, because tertiary level education is the most expensive. So the accurate picture is that we are looking at something like 23 million dollars in addition to the existing education budget to meet that commitment which is absolutely achievable. Not to mention all the waste that has been taking place over the last 8 years."
Patrick Faber, Minister of Education
"He is talking nonsense Jules. You know that first of all, if he is going to reduce GST and he is going to abolish income tax and he is going to roll out NHI and he is going to provide all of these new jobs - it will cost money. You can't give away money while you are expecting to spend more money. If you ask me, we can get to a point where we have free education and it is paid for completely from early childhood to tertiary. But the ideas is not just to add on another 24 million dollars. It is to try to become more efficient in the use of what is already allotted some of which I've shared with you how we can get it done. But his solution to the problem is never going to work. It is a foolish suggestion and people who bite on to that are - I mean you bite on to anything is that is the case."
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