The position is that allocations including secretarial and caretaking provisions for vocational schools and community colleges are approved to vocational education committees on a scheme basis. It is a matter for each VEC to deploy clerical and caretaking staff to meet the needs of its committee and schools as it sees fit. As pay budgets for vocational education committees, which are based on and subject to their approved staffing allocations, are made on a block basis, and as such costs are not separately identified in the vocational education committees annual financial returns, the information sought on school secretarial and caretaking costs is not readily available in my Department.
The general position is that each vocational school and community college with an enrolment in excess of 250 students is provided with a secretary and caretaker on a full-time basis and the salary of these employees is provided for in full by my Department in the annual pay budget of vocational education committees.