Opposition urges Government to reveal full costs and funding plan for proposed fee-free education policy
HONIARA, SOLOMON ISLANDS – The Parliamentary Opposition has called on the Government to release the full costing of its proposed fee-free education policy and to demonstrate clearly that the country has the fiscal space to sustain such a commitment without undermining other national priorities.
The Opposition said that after the initial public debate over what “free education” actually means, the next question must be the real cost to the nation. It said there is a major difference between removing tuition fees in selected government day schools and taking responsibility for a wider package that could include boarding, food, utilities, dormitories, operating costs, and support across different categories of schools.
“The country deserves honesty on the price tag,” the Opposition said.
“There is a vast difference between a carefully targeted fee-relief programme and a broad national commitment covering multiple categories of school costs. Those are different policies with very different budget implications.”
The Opposition noted that previous analysis has estimated the proposed policy at around SBD1.3 billion dollars annually. Against a national budget in the range of SBD4 to 5 billion dollars, that would represent a very substantial recurrent commitment requiring careful financial justification.
“If government is serious about this policy, it must publish the numbers and explain how it intends to fund it not just this year, but year after year,” the statement said.
“A policy of this scale cannot be carried by slogans. It must be supported by credible budget projections, revenue measures, and a clear explanation of what other spending will be affected.”
The Opposition warned that unless the policy is tightly defined and properly costed, the country risks crowding out other critical priorities such as healthcare, infrastructure, productive sectors, jobs, and law and order.
“Every dollar committed to one sector is a dollar not available somewhere else,” the Opposition said.
“That is why fiscal space matters. If government intends to make a large and recurring education commitment, it must also explain what this means for hospitals, roads, rural development, youth employment, and the wider economy.”
The Opposition also said that the Education Regulations 2024 already provide a structured legal framework for school fees, including regulated caps and hardship arrangements. It said the proper starting point is to strengthen enforcement of the current system, improve support for vulnerable families, and invest more in classrooms, teacher housing, grants, and school quality before expanding into a broad universal promise.
“Regulated fee caps, hardship schemes, instalment arrangements and fee remission mechanisms are already part of the law,” the statement said.
“The first task of government should be to prove it can enforce the existing framework properly and improve the quality of the system before asking the country to absorb a much larger financial obligation.”
The Opposition further cautioned that any education policy funded heavily through external support would expose the country to longer-term vulnerability if donor priorities change or external financing declines.
“A responsible government must distinguish between start-up support and long-term sustainability,” the Opposition said.
“If this policy depends on outside support in its early years, the public must be told what happens when that support is reduced, delayed or withdrawn.”
The Parliamentary Opposition Group said it remains supportive of affordable education and genuine reform, but stressed that the nation must proceed on the basis of realism, transparency and sustainability.
“We all want our children to have access to education,” the statement concluded.
“But large national commitments must be measured against economic reality. Government must first define the policy, then cost it honestly, and then prove that Solomon Islands can afford it without weakening the services and investments on which the country also depends.”
PRESS RELEASE
