Scrap Fee Structure panel report 2020: AGUSPA to Education Dept

Team Herald 

MAPUSA: The All Goa Unaided Schools Parents Association (AGUSPA) has demanded that the Director of Education scrap the Fee Structure Committee report 2020 and constitute a new committee with authorised representatives of the association.

Stating that the report was prepared by the Fee Structure Committee formed in 2019, AGUSPA executive committee members alleged that they were misrepresented during the formation of the committee in 2019. 

They claimed that the implementation of the Fee Structure Committee Report submitted in 2020 will be an injustice to the students studying in unaided schools across the State as it will lead to harassment to parents by the school management.

The AGUSPA demanded that a fresh committee be formed by inviting and appointing representatives of AGUSPA as they are representatives of the parents’ body. They also demanded that all orders issued by the Director of Education be withdrawn and approvals of fee structure and other directions be cancelled immediately.

AGUSPA called upon the DoE to keep on hold any hike in fees. 

AGUSPA executive member Orlando Pacheco urged the Chief Minister, who also holds the Education portfolio, to intervene into the matter because if this report is implemented then it will be an injustice to the students studying in unaided schools across the State as the school managements will harass the parents by hiking fees and create other issues.

The AGUSPA members informed that they had filed writ petition in the High Court in 2009 to address the issue of arbitrary fee hike by the management of unaided schools and for transparency in such hike. In 2010, on the directions of the court, a committee was constituted by the Directorate of Education under the chairmanship of D P Pednekar, a retired principal with representative of the parents body AGUSPA and private-aided school body AGRUSSA.

The members said in the same year, a report was filed called the Fee Structure Committee Report 2010, which was accepted by Government, but not implemented. However, in 2019, a new committee was formed and they have been misrepresented in this committee and have not contributed to the new report filed in 2020.

The AGUSPA executive committee alleged that the then Education Director Vandana Rao formed the committee by representation suggested by AGGRUSA even after knowing that AGUSPA and AGGRUSA are adversaries in the court. 

The executive committee claimed that this is a conspiracy done to manipulate the outcome of the report under a conflict of interest.

Meanwhile, Tallulah D’Silva whom the executive committee have alleged of misrepresenting AGUSPA during the 2019 committee formation also claimed that she was misrepresented as AGUSPA member on the committee.

D’Silva said she wrote to CM and Director of Education that it was misrepresentation and appealed for reconstitution of the new committee for fee structure in view of writ petition No 366 of 2009 as the committee did not have a consultative process, which was mandated and did not have AGUSPA representation as petitioners while respondents were represented and therefore the report prepared by the committee that she was part of is not a fair one.