MARGAO
Non-governmental Organisation (NGO) Awaken Goans have posed a host of questions to the government on the education demanding an independent, transparent and time-bound inquiry into the state of affairs, including promotions and financial loss to teachers, audit of schools etc.
Saying that education is not merely another government department, but determines the future of Goa, the NGO has called upon the government to place the facts before the people. “We do not want political explanations. We want documents. We do not want assurances. We want accountability. We do not want blame games. We want solutions because the future of Goa cannot be experimented with”, stated Amar Gaonkar at the media briefing.
On promotions, the NGO questioned why have numerous teachers, Headmasters, Principals and education officers allegedly remained without promotion for prolonged periods and how many eligible employees have retired without receiving their due promotion.
Demanding to know the financial loss to teachers, the NGO asked whether promotion decisions resulted in teachers losing financial benefits or career progression and who is responsible for examining these grievances?
Seeking an audit of schools, the NGO demanded to know when was the last comprehensive financial and administrative audit conducted in aided schools, with a further query whether audits have not been conducted regularly, who has been monitoring the utilisation of public grants.
On the state of the schools, it asked how many schools were physically inspected during each of the last ten years? How many inspection reports were submitted and what corrective action followed
“Why do schools continue to report shortages of teaching and non-teaching staff? What is the current vacancy position across Goa? Are permanent posts being sanctioned to schools according to transparent, objective and uniformly applied criteria? If not, why”, the NGO further questioned.
On the National Education Policy, the NGO sought to know who is responsible for each stage of NEP implementation in Goa and what consultation has taken place with teachers, parents and other stakeholders? Why have contradictory public communications reportedly created confusion?
