MAPUSA: The Parent Teacher Association (PTA) Executive Committee of St Thomas Higher Secondary School, Aldona has strongly condemned the allegations and accusations made by the two male teachers against two priests of misappropriation of funds recently at a protest staged by them in the premises of the institution.
They also demanded justice and reinstatement of the principal and manager of the institution.
Treasurer Santan Pinto said that they condemn the recent accusations made by the teachers Amarnath Panjikar and Gurudas Malik in an attempt to malign and defame the institution.
“The allegations made that all students are made to pay fees of Rs 10,000 is misleading. In July 2018, Manager Fr Valerian informed the PTA that renovation work had to be done during the Academic Year 2019-20. Hence a resolution was passed to raise the fee for the renovation work. The three senior staff committee formulated the fee structure comprising of Gurudas Malik, Lavina Pereira and Daryl Abranches. The vocational students had to pay a little more in order to meet the cost of food items prepared by them as part of their practical almost every day. However, the economical weaker sections were exempted from the revised fee structure,” he said while addressing a press conference here on Wednesday.
“We demand the reinstatement of both the priests. The misappropriation of money allegations made by these two teachers is a desperate attempt to shield themselves. The allegations against the management are false and meaningless,” he added.
The PTA also clarified that that the allegation of a fake account in Aldona Co-operative Bank made by these two teachers was baseless as it was a legal account.
“Teacher Gurudas completed all the formalities for opening the said account. The money deposited in the account till date is not utilised and the income/expense statement is available for public scrutiny. Parents, benefactors and well-wishers are free to visit the school and see the renovation works carried out by the two priests from June 2018,” said a PTA member.
