Sat slams Oliver over school funding

Maharaj, the secretary general of the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha (SDMS) and member of the denominational school boards, said it was a "falsehood" for anyone to say that the SDMS or any denominational board was withholding monies from schools.

He said the SDMS had a manager’s grant in which it transferred funds to principals to allow them to pay bills and other matters.

Last week, former president of the Trinidad and Tobago Unified Teachers Association (TTUTA), Trevor Oliver, speaking in his capacity as president of the St George East Primary Schools Principals’ Association, attacked the denominational school boards for withholding funds to principals.

Oliver had said that the boards should brace themselves for a fight, if they continued to obstruct the education system by withholding monies. He also said the National Primary Schools Principals’ Association negotiated with the ministry to have $30,000 allocated to principals for minor repairs at schools about a year and a half ago. However, he alleged that "the board knocked that, saying all monies must come through them, and principals are starved of funds which is a backward step. They stand the contempt of principals as they are interfering with the autonomy of school principals," he charged.

Speaking at an SDMS teachers’ convention at the SDMS headquarters in St Augustine yesterday, Maharaj said "neither Trevor Oliver nor anyone can drive a nail into the schools without the explicit permission of the school boards."

Maharaj said there was a relationship between the State and the boards, and accused Oliver of looking for an appointment in the Ministry of Education after he retires in two years. Maharaj said the SDMS or school boards would not be dictated to by Oliver, and also criticised him personally for his manner of dress and speech.

"Do not pattern your speech or dress after him," Maharaj told his teachers, adding that it was unfortunate that those who speak on behalf of teachers were improperly dressed. Maharaj said children learned from the hidden curriculum more than from the written one. He said the boards catered for two thirds of the students attending primary schools, and it was the teachers’ responsibility to be icons and leaders in their own right.

Maharaj said the SDMS began with six primary schools, and today was responsible for 15 pre-schools, 43 primary and five secondary schools.

He attributed the discipline of students at the SDMS schools to the "dedication and commitment of the teachers who make sacrifices."

Maharaj also said there was a three-man review team looking at the shortcomings within the schools with a view to making recommendations for improvement. He advised that culture and religion must be the foundations of education with the "secular and sacred going hand in hand," which he said ensured denominational schools excelled. The SDMS also honoured several teachers for giving 25 years or more service to the profession.