GROUP FORMED BY PARENTS TO DEMAND ENGLISH AS THE MEDIUM OF INSTRUCTIONS IN THE SCHOOLS

PANJIM: Parents of school going children in Goa have formed a group demanding inclusion of English language as the medium of instruction under Right To Education (RTE) in the state.  The parents under the banner of 'Forum for Rights of Children's Education' (FRCE) have called for a massive rally at Panjim tomorrow to unite a cross section of people over the issue.

"The Parent-Teachers Association of various schools across Goa have collected 51,372 signatures on a single day," FRCE spokesman Savio Lopes told PTI.

The state Education department is besieged with the medium of instruction issue as several parents are demanding that education in Konkani or Marathi, which are state languages, will cap off students prospects outside Goa.

State Education Minister Atanasio Monserrate has told the Legislative Assembly that a 'policy decision on the issue would be adopted soon.

FRCE has demanded that English should be allowed as one of the languages to be used as medium of instruction at the elementary level in school. The parents have demanded that Marathi and Konkani should continue as one of the compulsory subjects in elementary education.

Lopes argued that although RTE states that medium of instruction at the elementary stage should be in the mother tongue, it also quickly adds "as far as practicable".

"To maintain continuity not only at the elementary level but also at all levels, it has been discerned by some of the state governments that it is practicable to have English as a medium of instruction as performance of students will improve, drop out rate will decrease, enrolment in higher education will go up and quality of education will be enhanced," he said. – PTI