Under the new formula, educational institutions will receive grants on a quarterly basis but will have to provide all required supporting documentation. In addition, all projects will have to be approved in advance by the Private Secondary Education Authority. This is what Leela Devi Dookun Luchoomun said in Parliament this morning during the Private Notice Question.
She justified these changes. She stated that the National Audit Office and also ICAC insist on efficient and ethical use of public funds. Leela Devi Dookun Luchoomun also said that many institutions submit unjustified and unreasonable requests. She added that she has a duty, as Minister of Education, to ascertain that public funds are well spent.
Xavier-Luc Duval then asked the Minister to specify which of the institutions she was targeting. Leela Devi Dookun-Luchoomun replied she is not going to pinpoint anyone but she added that many school spend public money on trivial projects. For the Leader of the Opposition, the whole thing is a terrible mess.
The new grant formula for private and faith-based colleges caused a stir in Parliament on Tuesday 07 December. The Minister of Education was able to ride on the waves of questions from the Opposition Leader, but her arguments were quite unclear to the members of Parliament who quietly made it known in their side comments accounting the minister‘s attempt to a ‘Muddying the Waters’. Gilberte Cheung, the Director of SEDEC, also exclaimed the same note of incomprehension and dissatisfaction.
The problem!
The Private Secondary Education Authority (PSEA) has become the body that administers grants to private and faith-based colleges after a circular dated 15 October that requires these institutions to justify each of their current expenditures, submit a Project Plan for each intended development and wait for approval from the PSEA before they can break ground. Thus, a total management of Block Grant and Operations Grants. Much gnashing of teeth followed this announcement. In short, they are not in favour of the idea that the fate of 60 public schools, 25 faith-based schools and 60,000 students should be under the absolute control of the PSEA and its director, Maheshwarnath Luchoomun.
The PNQ
Xavier Duval rightly focused on the actions taken by the Minister of Education, Leela Devi Dookun-Luchoomun following the Diocesan Catholic Education Service’s October 29 press release entitled “PSEA decisions: a threat to the survival of grant-aided colleges” and the decisions following the Federation of Unions of Managers of Private Secondary Schools press conference held on 08 November.
The response defending PSEA
Minister Leela Devi Dookun-Luchoomun has made it clear that there would be no hint of interference, saying “there is nothing wrong with the PSEA statement. And that private colleges have to justify the expenses incurred… It is my duty to ensure that public funds are used properly… As the Minister of Education, I deal with all schools“. She also made it clear that “the partnership between the state and private colleges is alive and well” and that the fallout from the Corruption Prevention Review declares the principle of ‘checks and balances‘ in PSEA’s management of public funds to be effective and efficient. According to LDDL, the reason PSEA did not submit certain grants was that “in reviewing the applications, many were unreasonable and unjustified“. As for the SEDEC press release, the Minister said that “I was myself shocked to see such a press release“.
Xavier Duval explains the “disorder”
The Leader of the Opposition, Xavier-Luc Duval states that “the Minister of Education does not understand the file. This is why there is such a chaos. The future of 56,000 students and hundreds of teachers is at stake.” He called Leela Devi Dookun Luchoomun’s words and actions “unethical behaviour, unjustified expenses and untruthful statements“. XLD went into further explanation at his press conference.
Gilberte Chung: threat to the survival of grant-aided colleges
Gilberte Chung, the Director of SEDEC, was equally outspoken in her reactions to the release of the PNQ. “We adhere to the principles of transparency and accountability, but the new subsidy formula suffocates our freedom to exist,” she said. She said that there is a severe lack of communication from PSEA despite constant correspondence on the issues involved, hence the need for SEDEC’s 29 October press release entitled “PSEA decisions: a threat to the survival of grant-aided colleges“.
