Adjustment in the upcoming 2023/2024 school year in the C&A system
WILLEMSTAD - Minister of Education, Science, Culture, and Sports (ESKD) Mr. Sithree van Heydoorn is adjusting the tariffs in line with the Education financing structure (C&A financing system). With the aim of creating a more efficient, directed, and transparent relationship concerning education financing, and to ensure the continuity of education, while also considering the concessions that emerged from the "Baseline Measurement" report, to achieve the modernization of the education financing system, the ESKD ministry has initiated concrete steps towards this.
The Education and Science sector has begun a process of reviewing the financing structure (C&A Financing System) with the goal of establishing a new structure in the 2025/2026 school year. At this moment, the Government Accountants Bureau (SOAB) is finalizing the process of inventorying all components of the current financing structure. Since the beginning of the year and in parallel with the process, Minister van Heydoorn instructed the Education and Science sector to find a temporary solution for cleaning fees, utility expenses (electricity and water), as well as expenses for students to have access to more and better educational materials.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of ESKD has evaluated the current financing system according to the indicated needs and has reached an increase in accordance with the limits and possibilities within the budget of Curaçao for the year 2023/2024. As a result of the mentioned investigation, the ESKD Minister informed the school boards through a letter that certain fees in the financing system (C&A) will be adjusted for the current 2023/2024 school year. This adjustment represents a structural increase of 3.2 million florins per year.
The adjustments are as follows:
Fee and Fee increase
1, Maintenance of school premises and grounds (Building and grounds maintenance), 35%
2, Cleaning expenses, 16.6%
3, Electricity utility costs, 27.6%
4, Water utility costs, 15.2%
5, Instructional materials (teaching materials for FO and SFO), 65%
6, Administrative expenses (including administration costs), 20%
Upon the Minister's instruction, the Education and Science sector is working on a proposal to cover the expenses of the 'student tracking system' (LVS). They are also evaluating adjustments to cleaning expenses for the period from January to July 2023. Once this proposal is ready, it will be assessed and indexed until January 1, 2023. These adjustments to certain fees within the financing system (C&A Financing System) are taking place after more than 22 years without these fees being adjusted. These adjustments should contribute to a better working environment and the well-being of our young students.