A top court in the western Indian state of Goa has upheld the right of the Archdiocese of Goa and Daman to administer its schools, as guaranteed by the rights enshrined in the Indian Constitution. The Goa bench of the Mumbai High Court delivered the order on Oct. 3, made public on Oct. 8, while hearing a petition filed by the Diocesan Society of Education (DSE), the educational arm of the Archdiocese.
The DSE had challenged directives issued in 2024 by the Goa Directorate of Education, which required that staff appointment orders in diocesan schools be authorized by the government agency, rather than the DSE chairman. The DSE, being a minority, “is not bound to follow the procedure prescribed” in the directives, the bench of Justices Bharati Dangre and Nivedita Mehta stated.
The Indian Constitution guarantees the rights of religious and linguistic minorities to manage and administer institutions for the benefit of their people. That right “imposes no such limits or restraints, except to ensure quality education,” the court said. The Archdiocese of Goa and Daman, which operates 138 primary to higher secondary schools, contested the directive, arguing that it curtails the archdiocese’s autonomy in managing its schools. The court quashed the education department’s directive and revived DSE’s autonomy to make appointments, initiate disciplinary proceedings, and exercise administrative control over its schools. The state holds the power to prescribe teacher qualifications and maintain educational standards. The DSE had also challenged specific rules of the education department, which it said curtailed its autonomy in running the schools.
