MAXIMIANA FERNANDES Vs. DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE essential controversy in this batch of writ petitions instituted by teachers is whether Pre-primary education is included within the meaning of "school" under the Goa, Daman and Diu Education Act, 1984 and whether the action of the Government in not providing grant-in-aid to Pre-primary schools is discriminatory.

(2.) THIS controversy has arisen as a result of new policy introduced by the State Government in providing grant to non-Government Primary schools so as to bring the Primary school teachers on par with teachers in Government Primary schools viz. scales of pay and other service conditions.

(3.) TO appreciate the controversy in these petitions, it is useful to set out the historical back-ground. Goa became a part of Union of India upon liberation in December, 1961. Prior to liberation of Goa, the education policy recognized learning Portuguese. For that purpose, the Government had established Primary schools with Portuguese as medium of instruction in some places in Goa and the Apex Education was available at an institution called Lyceum. No post-graduation educational facility was available except for a school in Medicine and courses like Pharmacy and Teaching. Despite Government policy, Primary schools with Marathi as medium existed of which generally Hindus took advantage and then shifted to Portuguese or English medium schools. A large number of Secondary schools with English medium existed in Goa which were at first affiliated to the University of Bombay and subsequently to the S. S. C. Board, Poona. The result was the students in Goa had to take centres like Bombay, Poona, Belgaum and Dharwar for S. S. C. Examination. Upon completion of S. S. C. Examination, those desiring of having higher education had to necessarily go out of Goa and the concentration was at places like Bombay, Belgaum, Poona and Dharwar. All these private Primary and Secondary schools were started either by individuals or missionaries or other voluntary Organizations which were run on fees collected from students with the result the teachers were paid inadequate and low salaries.