from Rubiya Shaikh
Daijiworld Media Network - Panaji (GA)

Panaji, Sep 2: Utt Goenkara has demanded that education minister Antanasio Monseratte should immediately resign as for having falsely filed an affidavit that he had passed his SSC exam even though he had not passed the eighth standard.

Addressing a press conference on Tuesday September 2, Utt Goenkara spokesman Aires Rodrigues stated that propriety demanded that chief minister Digambar Kamat should uphold the respect and dignity of Goans by outrightly stripping Monseratte of the very important education portfolio.

Aires Rodrigues also stated that having been found to have filed a false affidavit on his educational qualifications, Monseratte had lost all moral authority to continue as a minister, more so as an education minister of the State.

"What authority can Monseratte command over the students and what role model can he aspire to be to the student community after he has blatantly dared to fudge and lie about his own educational qualifications?" he asked.

Rodrigues stated that the recently inducted education minister Antanasio Monseratte in his affidavit filed on on May 12, 2007 along with his nomination papers for the last Assembly elections had stated that he had passed SSC from St Theresa’s High School, Bandra.

"I spoke to the headmaster of the school and he told me that Monseratte was admitted to St Theresa's High School, Bandra Mumbai on June 19, 1975 for VIth standard and later he went for vacation on 7th September 1978 halfway through in VIIIth standard and never returned," Aires stated.

"We the Utt Goenkara requests the chief minister that Antanasio should be sacked from the cabinet immediately or else we have our strategy already planned to sack him," he announced. 

Aires Rodrigues further lamented that even to eligible to get licence to ride a motorcycle, one has to pass VIII standard. Then how can one be entrusted with the task of formulating and shaping the educational policy of the State at the risk of jeopardizing the future of thousands of students and hundreds of educationalists.

Aires Rodrigues also gave an open challenge to Monseratte that he will see to it that injustice is not done to the Goans and he will also not keep quiet if Antanasio tries to touch any members of Utt Goenkara committee.

Aires Rodrigues wondered how the state government website publishes wrong information about their members of the Legislative members.

"We are shocked that the state government website has published that Monseratte is a IInd year BA student while the records of the school state that he has not even completed his VIIIth standard", he added.

Aires Rodrigues concluded saying "we again ask the chief minister to sack Monseratte immediately and that action be taken against officers for publishing wrong information on government websites."