Education
A child sitting outside a classroom with tears in their eyes because their parents have not paid school fees is a sight the founder of Saint Martin de Porres, Florence Laast says she cannot bear.
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A child sitting outside a classroom with tears in their eyes because their parents have not paid school fees is a sight the founder of Saint Martin de Porres, Florence Laast says she cannot bear.
For the veteran educationist, collecting unpaid fees is one of the persistent challenges of running a private school. But the difficulty becomes even more painful when a child is caught in the middle of a dispute they did not create.
“That is a big headache till today,” Mrs Laast said when Kafui Dey asked how she dealt with parents who defaulted on school fees.
She explained that every year, the school encounters parents who fail to pay. While some families genuinely struggle and make efforts to settle their obligations, she said others do not communicate with the school or appear to make the necessary effort.
The school sometimes has to forgo money owed, creating a difficult situation for an institution that must continue to operate while meeting its responsibilities to pupils.
Yet Mrs Laast said she does not want children punished for their parents’ inability or failure to pay.
“What I don’t like to see is to see a poor child, innocent child sitting somewhere with tears,” she said, describing the emotional effect of a pupil being sent out of class.
She recalled that the school gives parents reminders about outstanding fees. If the reminders go unanswered, a child may eventually be asked to sit at the reception rather than remain in class.
For Mrs Laast, that process is deeply troubling.
“You hurt the child. No fault of the child,” she said.
Her preferred approach is for parents who cannot pay on time to inform the school. She said many parents do communicate and try to resolve their difficulties, allowing the school to understand their circumstances.
She also argued that a child’s welfare is a shared responsibility between the home and the school.
“The child’s welfare is a collective responsibility,” she said.
Mrs Laast’s account captures the difficult balance private schools face: they must collect fees to sustain their operations, but they also have a duty to protect pupils from emotional harm.
Her message to parents is simple: if payment becomes difficult, communicate with the school instead of allowing the child to bear the consequences.
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