Minister of Education Andrew Holness has said that the objective of the Government's free tuition initiative is to ensure that all Jamaicans have access to education.

Holness, who was addressing a 'think tank' held recently at the Jamaica Information Service's Half-Way Tree Road headquarters, said that with the initiative there is no excuse for parents not to send their children to school.

"Parents who do not send their child to school because they feel they cannot afford it are neglectful and [I] will consider them negligent," he stated.

The Government announced free tuition at the secondary level and said parents who have already paid would begin receiving refunds in November.

He said that in removing the tuition fee, which covers "the non-salary costs of delivering tutelage and the materials for delivering tutelage", the Government will be absorbing a greater portion of the education cost.

"We firmly believe that a reallocation of the existing budget towards education will make the value that we get from the expenditure of the entire budget greater," he argued.

The Education Minister urged parents, who are still having difficulties in sending their children to school, to take advantage of the many assistance programmes in place.