Fund raising carried out by schools, including requests by Church schools for voluntary donations, needs to be regularised, according to Voluntary Organisations’ Commissioner Kenneth Wain.

The current practice of asking for donations is a form of fund-raising, Prof. Wain said. “If you collect money, you’re subject to laws. As far as I know, there are two ways in which you can regularise your position: either enrol as a voluntary organisation or get a police permit.”

However, none of the Church schools is enrolled in the Commissioner’s register and neither, according to the police, do donations fall under laws obliging them to obtain a permit.

While the Education Directorate is starting to ask Church schools for information about the non-voluntary expenses that parents are expected to bear, questions remain about the transparency of requests for donations.

According to the 1991 state-Church agreement, the government subsidises 10 per cent over and above staff costs in order to cover other expenses.

The agreement allows the schools to request donations from parents to help them cover administrative and maintenance costs.

Still, all non-state schools, including Church schools and non-profit making independent schools, fall under the definition of a voluntary organisation, according to Prof. Wain. Any non-profit organisation set up for the “the advancement of education, including physical education and sports” and which is autonomous of the state (independent from the state in its administration and policy making) is defined as a voluntary organisation.

Any type of fundraising by an organisation has to fall under the voluntary organisations or public collections laws, Prof. Wain said.

Fund-raisers should either enrol as a voluntary organisation, which would automatically grant them the right to fundraise, or be covered by a police permit under the Public Collections Act.

However, the police told The Times that school donations do not fall under the remit of the Public Collections Act.

When contacted, an Education Ministry spokesman said the directorate regulated learning standards only, making sure the school conformed to the education law.

“The directorate monitors the compliance of laws and regulations within its remit, namely the Education Act and subsidiary legislation. It is up to the individual schools to make sure that they are in compliance with other relevant laws and regulations, in this case related to donations,” the spokesman added.