I still do my Points for Pera scheme, but this new term there has risen a new ( new for me ) problem.

One on the wife's niece's has shown me what the "Free" education system expects her to pay for this free service. She has 3 kids ( a modest amount here ) and the kids have been asked for P100 for a new TV, P40 for a new fans, P20 for a new sink in the toilet and P20 for soap etc in the wash room, this is the same amount demanded last year for TV and fans that seem to have disappeared over the holidays. That is P180 per kid, she earns about P150 a day so that is nearly one weeks income. They even text her yesterday saying that she still owed P100 and if it was not paid her child would not be allowed to sit the exam, that kid is one of the smartest 9 year olds I have met in the Philippines.

Have others come across this, or is it just local to where I live.

This is a common place sharp practice. As pinoys are brought up to be non confrontational, those higher ups get away with it. Does not just happen at schools. How many pinoys have to pay to get a job!!

A few years back the department od education was judged to be the most corrupt government department in the Philippines

Cost of middle and high school in the Philippines has been free for many decades. But I have heard of people paying. It is dumb. Good news at least, not only is college free, they pay you to go to school!

We had, until this year, two daughters in High School and would regularly get letters begging for money for classroom fans etc. They invoked God etc, always in very poor English and signed personally by ever student in the class. Basically psychological blackmail. Very common here.