Sat: Bias against religious schools

While the Ministry of Education is operating out of cardboard boxes, it is the country’s denominational schools which have stopped the education system from collapse, asserted Maha Sabha general secretary, Sat Maharaj. He was yesterday at the Red House addressing a meeting on education by Parliament’s Joint Select Committee on the Services Commissions and Municipal Corpora-tions. Maharaj said: “Education is in a state of collapse. It would have already collapsed without the denominational boards. They are sustaining the system.” He noted two-thirds of primary schools and one-third of secondary schools were religious. “The denominational schools have saved the nation from a total descent into degeneration, yet they are the most cash-strapped schools.”

He criticised the Ministry of Education which he said “exists in the Age of the Cardboard Box,” referring to the stacking of personnel files in boxes rather than being filed on computer. Moreso, he saw a sinister move to undermine the denominational boards  by certain “education czars” in the Ministry of Education. He accused them of breaching the 1960 Concordat by covertly supporting the Romain Report, which he said aimed to destroy the reputation and discretionary power of the denominational boards. While saying the Concordant lets a denominational board veto a teacher’s appointment, Maharaj claimed: “The boards are being undermined in the matter of promotion, appointments and transfers of staff.”

He said the Concordant also said denominational schools should be treated like State schools and be funded 100 percent for expansion of facilities, equipment, maintenance, refurbishment, utilities and security. “But they ask us for one-third. One third of nine million dollars is three million dollars.” Ministry of Education Permanent Secretary, Angella Jack, said the Romain Report had been done under the UNC administration which since then had not been acted on. One Opposition Senator said the “education czars” mentioned by Maharaj were causing a great deal of confusion in the Ministry of Education. Fyzabad MP, Chandresh Sharma, said he knew ten or 12 people having problems  register- ing as teachers, and he urged that they be helped.