Dear
Editor,
On
the Catholic Education Secretariat’s financial debacle
In
an obviously sincere bid to finding solutions to one of a myriad of fundamental
challenges facing the Government-assisted schools, the Catholic Education
Secretariat (CES) finds itself entangled in the proverbial practice of robbing
Peter to pay Paul. This might sound disingenuous to some as it reflects the
carrying out of the wrong practice for the right purpose, which is to ensure
the timely payment of salaries and allowances to teachers and upholding the
financial obligations owed to a Cooperative Credit Union.
My
beef however is with the decision of the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education
(MoBSE) to suspend the subvention of funds voted by the National Assembly for
the purpose to CES. God knows that the justification for government’s
intervention in education if only in part where the assisted schools are
concerned, is most importantly to ensure equality and promote equity through
opportunities and choice. In this context, government provides education by
constructing schools and employing teachers, funds education by providing
classrooms free of charge and in accordance with the Education Act, 1992,
provides grants (subventions) to schools it does not own but chooses to assist.
To
my mind, the decision of MoBSE to suspend the subvention to CES might not only
aggravate the challenges faced by the Government-assisted schools, but would
also contravene the decision of the National Assembly conveyed in the Approved
Budgetary Estimates of Recurrent Expenditure and Revenue 2020, thereby spawning
other unintended consequences.
I
do believe therefore that a review of the financial management practices at CES
by well-grounded staff in financial management at MoBSE would certainly prove
its worth.
Joseph
P. Jassey, Capt. (rtd)
Executive
Consultant
West
Atlantic Security Risk Assessment and Management
