A lot has been written about the MOI some in favour some against and more of fence sitting. Thanks to Mr Minguel and Mr Tomazinho who have rose to the cause of the topic and have exposed the bigmouth supporters of marathi who have Marathi in their heart but are not bold enough to debate about the Goa ’s mai bas Konkani. I feel that If English is included in the curriculum there is a fear among the Marathi lovers that there will be no demand for marathi schools running in Goa earning hugh doles from the Goa govt. when the official language of Goa is Konkani.
I am not a intellectual nor I am a politician I am a simple parent with limited resources but am ambitious enough to see that my child gets the best education and training to face the world
Goans have loved their mother tongue Konkani and have fought for it and there is no doubt that by demanding the inclusion of English along with Konkani as a compulsory subject we are less faithful to our Goa . If Marathi and kanand or any other regional language has to be in the curriculum then English too can be considered as a regional language because it is the official language of Nagaland.
With all this debate the main fear of the parents was not addressed by any. At least my main fear is if the Govt goes forward and implements the RTE Act http://www.ncpcr.gov.in/Acts/gazette_right_to_education_bill_2009.pdf then the Elementary education means from class 1 to 8th std. [chapter I; 2.(f)]
If the education has to be in ones mother tongue [capter V: 29: 2 (f)] then when will a underprivileged child, master the universal language English and how will he compete with a privileged child whose parents have dished out Hugh donations and got his child ready to face the world .Is this not discrimination of once right to Education.
Every body will not be as smart as the L.O.O to grasp English at a later level of studies. The child is bound to lack behind and unfortunately there will be more dropouts and suicides A Childs future and his ability to face the world without the proper knowledge of English will hamper his development, and in turn affect his future. He/She will have a uncertain future and pain and trauma he or she will suffer along with the parents who have been unable to give the child good education through a private English schools due to financial constrains hence the whole family will be at loss.
The L.O.O. says that if the assembly changes the medium of instructions to English than the would-be parents after 10 20 years will curse the ministers for changing the medium as it will not be their fault that they have to teach theirs wards in English then I am asking the same question to the minister in whose term the decision to grant govt grants only to Konkani and Marathi were taken 20 years back what was our fault that we and our children have to suffer the ordeal. Does the ex education minister who was responsible to give a ghost support to Marathi will she also support the other regional Kannad language that is fast taking roots in Goa .
According to me the people who are opposing the inclusion of English along with Konkani as compulsory subject for the elementary level has very little love for Konkani they are more worried about their pet language Marathi., which is forced upon Goans. Why does not the same people who have got a sudden interest in the topic, talk about protecting the Konkani language and not speak in Konkani but speak more about marathi. Why are they running private English schools and earning hugh on donation but are not ready to admit a poor goan child free in their school who want to lean in English. I feel there is also a fear amongst these private institutions that their student turnout will reduce which in turn will affect their schools. Small private English schools charging exorbitant fees as donations Infrastructure fees will surely be closed down.
What interest does they have that even when they do not have their children in the schools that they are frontrunners to decide about my child future.. Non of the great educationist nor the educated MLAs who boast of their children studying in English aboard can decide about my child’s future which as a parent I am responsible to carve myself.
I was watching the debate on this issues on DD . Mr Radharao and Mr Tomazinho did enthrall the viewers with their intelligence and understanding of the issue. The marathi lobby was exposed, on how they promote Marathi through the back door and how they manage to cling every govt. job that is available but at the same time a student who has learned in Konkani has difficulty in getting jobs in Goa . Hence he has to explore the possibility of employment around the world to provide for himself and his family in Goa . For this it is very important that he has a through knowledge of the universal language, if not he is neither here nor there he is unemployed and the number will keep on increasing for the next few years to come.
Now that there is a status quo on the subject I feel that the parent’s choice has to be respected and a policy has to be formulated for the elemeintary level which includes English as a medium of Instructions along with Konkani as a compulsory subject and other regional languages should be optional. Hope the MLA ‘s support the cause and don’t fail their communities
Melanie Alvares
