The T&T Unified Teachers' Association (TTUTA) has threatened to take legal action against the Ministry of Education (MoE), the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha (SDMS) board or anyone who attempts to subvert its affairs. TTUTA president Roustan Job condemned reported attempts by Satnarayan Maharaj, SDMS general secretary, to prevent union members from entering the compound of Hindu schools to distribute literature to union staff representatives.
The principals of those schools said they were acting on verbal instructions given by Maharaj that TTUTA officials could not enter without the board's approval. Job said: "This instruction sought to subvert and undermine the role of TTUTA," which is the legally-recognised majority union for members of the teaching service in public schools.
"Maharaj has no authority and very little respect for the rule of law.," Job said. When contacted by the T&T Guardian via telephone, Maharaj said: "TUTTA are tenants at (SDMS) board schools and they need permission before entering the compound to conduct any form of activity."
Maraj further stated: "Apparently, TTUTA has not read the Concordat agreement between the churches and the Ministry of Education." The Concordat was an agreement signed in 1960 between the Government and schools operated by denominational boards. "Section two of the agreement holds that in denominational schools, no books or apparatus to which the denominational authority formally objects will be introduced or imposed."