ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS
SECTION
PART I
Preliminary
1. Short title
2. Interpretation
PART II
Administration
3. Duties of Minister
4. Duties of Permanent Secretary
5. Constitution of local education authorities
6. Duties of local education authorities
7. Establishment of boards of governors for Government schools
8. Contents of order
9. Establishment of boards of governors for aided schools
10. Establishment of committees
11. Contents of order
12. Functions of school committees
PART III
Registration and Control of Schools
13. Register of schools
14. Registration compulsory
15. Misleading advertisements, etc.
16. Application for registration
17. Registration by Permanent Secretary
18. Change in establishment to be registered
19. Regulations regarding school premises
20. Duties of manager
21. Curriculum
22. Religious instruction
23. Proscription of publications
24. Employment of teachers
25. Fees
26. Inspection of schools
27. Power to close schools
PART IV
Supplementary
28. Appeals to Minister
29. Regulations
Schedule
Law 40, 1966,
L.N. 84, 1966,
Act 58, 1969,
Act 70, 1970,
Act 30, 1971,
S.I. 121, 1971,
S.I. 4, 1975,
Act 26, 1975,
S.I. 147, 1975,
Act 31, 1978,
S.I. 5, 1978,
S.I. 105, 1981,
S.I. 4, 1993,
S.I. 10, 1996,
S.I. 26, 1996,
S.I. 67, 1996,
S.I. 53, 2003.
An Act to provide for the proper development of education and for matters incidental thereto or connected therewith.
[Date of Commencement: 24th February, 1967]
PART I
Preliminary (ss 1-2)
This Act may be cited as the Education Act.
In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires—
"aided school" means a private school maintained wholly or partially by way of a recurrent grant out of public funds or the funds of any local council;
"area" means an area in respect of which a district council has been established under the Local Government (District Councils) Act (Cap. 40:01) or a place declared to be a city or township under the Townships Act (Cap. 40:02);
"Government school" means a school maintained out of public funds and managed by the Ministry of Education;
"local education authority" has the meaning assigned thereto in section 5;
"local council" means, in relation to any area in respect of which a district council has been established under the Local Government (District Councils) Act, that district council; and in relation to any area in respect of which a city or town council has been established under the Townships Act, that city or town council;
"local government school" means a school maintained entirely or partially out of local government funds and managed by a local education authority;
"manager", in relation to a school, means the person or body of persons responsible for the management of the school and, for the purposes of the provisions of this Act relating to applications for the registration of schools to be established, includes any person or body of persons proposing to be so responsible;
"owner", in relation to a school, means the owner of the undertaking comprising the school, whether or not he owns the land on which any premises of the school are situate;
"parent", in relation to any pupil or child, includes a guardian, whether by customary law or otherwise and every person who has the actual custody of such pupil or child;
"post-primary school" means a school whose curriculum follows upon primary education;
"prescribed" means prescribed by regulations made under section 29;
"primary education" means the first seven years of formal education;
"primary school" means a school at which primary education is provided;
"private school" means a school which is not a Government school or a local government school;
"pupil" includes a person of any age for whom education is provided or is required to be provided under this Act, and any person enrolled on any register of enrolment of persons in attendance at the school, maintained in the school;
"school" means an institution in which not less than 10 pupils receive regular instruction, whether by way of personal tuition or by correspondence, and any assembly of not less than 10 pupils for the purpose of receiving such regular instruction, and any institution or place from which a regular instruction emanates or is imparted by means of correspondence, and includes any buildings used as part of the institution for boarding, domestic and recreational purposes; but does not include—
(a) any institution or assembly in which the instruction is wholly or mainly of a religious character; or
(b) any institution owned and maintained by a religious society for the purpose of training persons—
(i) for the ordained ministry; or
(ii) for admission to a religious order under the direction of or associated with such religious society:
Provided that any class, division or section of any such institution or assembly in which instruction is, in the opinion of the Permanent Secretary, wholly or mainly devoted to secular subjects shall be deemed to be a school;
(c) any institution or assembly which is declared by the Minister, by order published in the Gazette, not to be a school for the purposes of this Act by reason of its vocational or specialised character.
PART II
Administration (ss 3-12)
(1) It shall be the duty of the Minister to promote primary and post-primary education, educational research, and the progressive development of schools, consistently with the powers of direction and control vested in him by this Act.
(2) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1) the Minister may by order published in the Gazette establish or disestablish such Government schools as he may deem it proper to establish or disestablish, as the case may be.
(3) In exercising his functions under this Act, the Minister shall give due consideration to any advice which may be given to him by any local education authority or board of governors or by any body established by the Minister for the purpose of giving such advice.
(4) The schools and colleges set out in the Schedule have been established as Government schools or colleges, as the case may be, with effect from the date specified in relation to each school or college.
(5) Whenever a school or college is established as a Government school under subsection (2), the Minister may by statutory instrument make an order amending the Schedule by adding thereto such school or college.
4. Duties of Permanent Secretary
The Permanent Secretary shall, subject to the control of the Minister, perform all work necessary or incidental to the duties and powers of the Minister under this Act, and shall carry out such other functions as are conferred on him by or under this Act.
5. Constitution of local education authorities
Every local council shall for the purposes of this Act be the local education authority for the area in respect of which it is established.
6. Duties of local education authorities
Every local education authority shall exercise its powers so as to promote primary education within its area and to assist, in such manner as may from time to time be approved by the Minister, in the promotion of education in other respects, and shall carry out such other functions as are conferred on it by or under this Act.
7. Establishment of boards of governors for Government schools
If, in the opinion of the Minister, the establishment of a board of governors would be in the interest of any Government school or group of schools, he may, by order published in the Gazette, establish a board of governors for that school or group of schools.
(1) An order establishing a board of governors under section 7 shall provide for—
(a) the name of the board;
(b) the exercise by the board of the duty of management of the school or group of schools specified in the order, subject to such limitations or restrictions as may be specified;
(c) the membership of the board (which may include representatives of the Ministry of Education, the local education authority, the parents of the pupils, the communities served by the school or group of schools, or other bodies or organisations);
(d) the method by which continuity of the membership of the board will be provided;
(e) the revocation of the appointment of, the retirement and resignation of, members of the board, and the appointment of new members thereof, and of temporary members thereof in case of absence or inability to act of any member thereof;
(f) the respective responsibilities, duties and powers of the board and of the other persons (if any) in whom any land or other property is vested in trust for or for the benefit of any school or group of schools affected by the order, and in respect of the use of the buildings and grounds of such school at times when they are not required to be used for purposes of education;
(g) such other matters as the Minister may consider necessary in respect of the constitution, functions and procedure of the board including the delegation by the board to committees thereof of such functions involved in the duty of management as the Minister may consider appropriate in the circumstances.
(2) A board of governors established under section 7 shall, unless the order by which it is established otherwise provides, be a body corporate.
9. Establishment of boards of governors for aided schools
(1) If, in the opinion of the Minister, the establishment of a board of governors would be in the interests of any aided school or group of aided schools, he may, with the consent of the owner or owners thereof, establish a board of governors for that school or group of schools.
(2) The provisions of sections 7 and 8 shall, subject to such consent being given, have effect in relation to the establishment of a board of governors for an aided school or group of aided schools as they have for the establishment of such a board for a Government school or group of Government schools.
10. Establishment of committees
(1) If, in the opinion of the Minister, it is desirable that a school committee be set up in respect of any primary school or group of primary schools he may cause proposals for that purpose to be placed before the manager of that school or group of schools, and the local education authority for the area in which such school or group of schools is situated.
(2) If, in the opinion of the manager of any primary school or group of primary schools, it is desirable that a school committee be set up in respect of that school or group of schools, he may submit proposals for that purpose to the Minister, and to the local education authority for the area in which the school is situated.
(3) Where proposals have been submitted by or to the Minister in pursuance of subsection (1) or (2) the Minister may, by order published in the Gazette, establish a school committee for the school or group of schools to which the proposals relate.
(4) Any such order may adopt the proposals so made with or without modifications.
An order establishing a school committee under section 10 shall provide for—
(a) the name of the committee;
(b) the membership of the committee (which may include representatives of the manager, the Ministry of Education, the local education authority, the parents of pupils, the communities served by the school or group of schools or other bodies or organisations);
(c) the method by which continuity of membership of the committee will be provided;
(d) the revocation of the appointment of, the retirement and resignation of members of the committee, and the appointment of new members thereof, and of temporary members thereof in case of absence or inability to act of any member thereof; and
(e) such other matters as the Minister may consider necessary in respect of the constitution, functions or procedure of the committee.
12. Functions of school committees
(1) The functions of a school committee shall be to advise the manager on such aspects of management as are set out in subsection (2) and to advise the Minister, and, where appropriate the local education authority, on the subjects mentioned in the said subsection, but the appointment of a school committee in respect of a school shall not affect the responsibility of the manager for its management, or confer on the committee any administrative powers.
(2) Subject to the provisions of subsection (1), a school committee may—
(a) advise the manager on the times at which the school session shall begin and end on any day;
(b) advise the manager on the appointment, supervision and dismissal of any non-teaching staff;
(c) advise the manager on the appointment to and resignation or dismissal from the school staff of teachers;
(d) satisfy themselves as to the maintenance of the school fabric and the provision of furniture and equipment;
(e) satisfy themselves as to the implementation of reports by inspecting officers as far as such reports relate to matters mentioned in this subsection;
(f) organise such activities as it may consider desirable, with the object of collecting funds to be used for the purposes of the school.
PART III
Registration and Control of Schools (ss 13-27)
(1) The Permanent Secretary shall cause to be established and maintained a register of all schools, in which shall be recorded the particulars required or permitted by or under the provisions of this Act.
(2) For the purposes of such register a system of classification shall be adopted which shall distinguish primary schools from other schools, and which shall further distinguish, with appropriate nomenclature—
(a) different types of schools according to the nature of education to be provided therein; and
(b) different classes, standards or forms within schools according to the stage, nature or method of education to be provided therein.
(3) The register shall contain the number and category of classes, standards and forms and the type of education which each school may provide, and the highest form or type of education which is to be provided therein.
(4) The register shall contain in relation to every school—
(a) the name of the owner thereof; and
(b) the name of the manager thereof, whether or not he is the owner.
(5) The system of classification and nomenclature may be amended from time to time by the Permanent Secretary.
(6) The Permanent Secretary shall cause a copy of such parts of the register maintained in pursuance of this section as relate to private schools to be published in the Gazette every calendar year.
(1) No person shall own or manage or give regular instruction at a school unless that school is registered under section 13.
(2) Any person who contravenes any of the provisions of subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding P500.
15. Misleading advertisements, etc.
Any owner or manager of a school who, with intent to mislead, refers to such school in, or in the course of, any correspondence or any advertisement, in such a manner as to suggest that the school is of a type or classification other than that in which it is for the time being registered under section 13, shall be guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding P200.
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