LETTER: Graduation Ceremony Entrance Fees & Excessive School Fundraising

Dear Chief Education Officer,

Graduation was once free. Parents cried, clapped, and watched their children cross the stage. That was the reward for years of sacrifice.

Not anymore. Schools in Antigua now charge parents entrance fees to attend graduation ceremonies. For me this is the final straw.

There isn’t a week or month that passes without another fundraiser. Schools request money for toiletries, for lab use, even though lab fees are already paid, for pencils, pens, and erasers because “children come without none.”

The list continues: dress up days, food fairs, “get back ya phone” fees, school bus fees, Increased entrance fees to secondary school,And now, graduation ceremony entrance fees.

Parents are paying for everything their children receive at school. Yet when questions are raised, some administrators act as though families contribute nothing. The truth is simple: Antiguan parents fund schools. We fund the toilet paper, the lab equipment, the pencils, the parties, the graduation itself.

Charging for graduation crosses a line. This isn’t a concert. It’s the culmination of 5+ years of fees, sacrifice, and support. Mothers who washed uniforms, fathers who worked double shifts, grandparents who paid CXC fees, now they need a ticket to see it.

We are not against supporting schools. We respectfully request 3 actions from the Ministry:
1. Transparency: Require schools to publish how fees and fundraising dollars are spent. If parents pay lab fees, why fundraise for lab use?
2. Stop double-dipping: Issue policy guidance against charging fees + fundraising for the same purpose + charging for event entry.
3. Free graduation entry: Mandate at least 2 free tickets per graduating student. Families, not wallets, should decide who attends.

Education is a right, not a marketplace. When every event becomes a collection plate, students learn that access depends on money, not merit.

Antigua’s children deserve better. And parents who already pay for everything deserve respect.

Sincerely,
Concerned Parent