THE government has accepted the recommendations of the five-member committee headed by the former education department official, Mr Dnyaneshwar Pednekar about the new uniform fee structure and also plans to notify this later this month for implementation from the academic year 2010-11.

As on earlier occasion, the All Goa Unaided School Parents Association has objected to the maximum fee, proposed by the committee constituted by the directorate of education. The association claims to have in its possession documentary evidence that some of the unaided, private schools were diverting lakhs of rupees collected in the form of donations, tuition fees, development fees, computer hire charges, building rents and under other heads directly to the accounts of the trusts in violation of the Goa Education Act and Rules. Earlier the Association had pointed out that before making a decision about increase or decrease of the fees, an audit of all schools must be done. Auditing must not be of the nature of financial assessment or verification. Instead it should also assess the quality of the education being imparted by these schools. There should also be an audit of the teaching acumen of the teachers. The government must listen to the points raised by the parents. The department of education should have a clear picture of the funds with these institutions. Presenting these institutions as centres of learning should not be the guiding factor; the government would have to find out how really they have contributed to building a strong band of qualified persons.