WILLEMSTAD – A father has been ordered by the Court of Curaçao to pay ANG 7,449 in outstanding school fees owed to the Association for Protestant Christian Education (VPCO). Although the membership and invoices were registered in the mother’s name, the court ruled that the father had personally agreed to pay the outstanding debt.
The unpaid fees relate to the 2017 through 2024 school years and concern the Albert Schweitzer School. In August 2025, VPCO informed the father that his child would not receive a placement for the new school year due to the unpaid tuition fees.
Following that notification, the father reached a payment agreement with VPCO. He made an initial payment of nearly ANG 3,300 but, according to the school organization, failed to comply with the remaining terms of the agreement.
During the court proceedings, the father argued that he was not a member of VPCO and that the invoices had been issued in the mother’s name. He also pointed out that VPCO had previously taken legal action against the mother regarding the same debt.
The father argued that agreeing to a payment plan did not mean he had become legally responsible for the outstanding amount.
The Court rejected that argument. Based on emails submitted during the proceedings, the judge concluded that the father had explicitly promised to pay the debt and had acknowledged the outstanding amount as his own obligation.
The court therefore ruled that VPCO could also hold the father responsible for the unpaid school fees.
The mother had already been ordered in October 2025 to pay the same debt. The judge determined that both parents are jointly liable, meaning VPCO can demand payment from either one of them. However, the organization cannot collect the same amount twice. If one parent pays part of the debt, the other parent’s obligation is reduced by that same amount.
In addition to the outstanding school fees, the father must pay ANG 750 in extrajudicial collection costs and ANG 950 in legal expenses. If the mother does not make any payment, the father’s total financial obligation could exceed ANG 9,100.
The court did not rule on whether parents are automatically both legally responsible for school fees based on their general duty of maintenance. The decision was based specifically on the father’s promise to pay and his acknowledgment of the debt.
The judge also did not address whether VPCO was legally allowed to deny the child a new school placement because of the unpaid fees.