KINGSTOWN (CMC):St Vincent and the Grenadines has announced the removal of registration-related fees for first-form students entering public and government-assisted private secondary schools on the island.Education and Vocational Training Minister Phillip Jackson said the move is part of the government’s broader push to ease the cost of education for Vincentian families, and that the decision also followed “much research and deliberation” within the Ministry of Education.Jackson said the new policy is intended to align with both the Education Act and the stated policy of the government on access to education.“This new policy reflects the ambitions of the Education Act, the more general policy enunciated by Prime Minister [Dr Godwin] Friday on the course of access to education in St Vincent and the Grenadines, and the NDP’s commitment to ease the cost of living for Vincentian families.”Under the new policy, fees designated as registration, processing and admission fees, among others, are to be removed from the registration process. Jackson said that while the broad policy has been set at the ministry level, specific details will be issued by each secondary school in revised registration packages.“However, the main changes include the removal of fees designated as registration, processing, and admission fees, among others,” he said, acknowledging that some schools had already begun their registration processes, with some families paying the previously advertised fees.The education minister said those families will receive refunds and that schools will set out how and when this will take place.“We ask you to exercise patience as the new policy comes into effect after some schools have started registration of new students,” Jackson said, adding that he is taking full responsibility for the timing of the policy shift and any disruption it may cause.But he insisted that the decision was taken in what he described as the best interests of students and families.“Please be assured that we are acting in the best interests of our students and their families as our administration and the ministry implements its commitment to ensuring that every child has equitable access to quality and affordable education.”