PANJIM: Goa government has decided to continue Konkani and Marathi as Medium of Instruction (MOI) for elementary education in the state, refusing the plea by section of parents to include English as MOI. "The government has decided to retain the existing system with primary standard from first to fourth in mother tongue and upper primary with standard fifth to seventh in English," State Education Minister Atanasio Monserrate, a man without minimum education, told State Legislative Assembly yesterday.
Further, the minister also announced recruitment of English teacher in each primary school in the state to strengthen the base knowledge of English.
Goa had witnessed controversy with a section of parents demanding including of English as MOI during framing of rules for Right to Education (RTE). There was another section comprising educationists, parents and intellectuals, who maintained that MOI should be in mother tongue.
The minister on Thursday also announced that the government will constitute a high power state Advisory Council to guide the government on RTE Act. Monserrate said that the state government is in the process of formulating the rules for RTE, keeping Goa in context. – PTI
The Current Govt only enforces things down the throats of the common men with absolutely lack of any direction and yet claims its an Aam Admi Govt. The parents have protested in a big way on the MOI ( Medium of Instructions)and now the religious institutions to have joined in this claim for English as MOI. With all this support gathering our Govt yet,sits adamant to do what it feels is right, ignoring the calls from the common men. This attitude is nothing but mere dictatorship in guise.Its unfortunate we have uneducated people in power teaching the intellects what to do.Dictatorship has been the order of the day by our men in power, and its high time this attitude changes before it goes the Current Middle Eastern way.
ReplyDeleteMarathi is not the State language, nor is it the mother tongue of Goans. But it is the mother tongue in the neighbouring State. The plan seems to be to have more people showing mother tongue as Marathi in Goa, so as to make it easier to merge Goa in the neighbouring State if and when it manages to grab Belgaum District and adjacent areas from Karnataka.
ReplyDeleteIt was reported in the press, some time in the past, that Maharashtra had appealed to the Supreme Court for the integration of Konkani speaking areas of Karnataka into Maharashtra, on the grounds that it had Konkani speaking areas in the Konkan. If this had borne fruit, then the next step would have been to gobble Goa.
We have to be vigilant.
We should blame our Catholic MLA's who have no courage and gut's to question on Marathi, why do we have Marathi first of all when it is not our language at all, being mother tongue of neghbouring state, few wierd minded traitors those still rule Goa wants to push it down on Goans and these MLA's just watch the drama. This ploy is nothing but pure back entry of Maharashtra into Goa. If these traitors succeed in Belgaum then definately thier next target will be of north Goa. We have to be vigilant at this happening. People must teach these bas..rd a lesson in the coming election otherwise Goa and Goans are gone for the dogs.
ReplyDeleteI just came across a newspaper report stating that Prof. M. S. Kamat, who was advisor to the state government on education issues and had been appointed in 2006 by the Goa government to study the problem of closure of government vernacular primary schools, has maintained that the mother tongue or regional language is the natural and most educationally sound instructional medium.
ReplyDeleteProf. Kamat has asked the state government to refrain from making any statement on the medium of instruction issue during the present assembly session without holding a statewide debate on the same.
Prof. Kamat also submitted a memorandum to the Chief Minister stating that "It is our view that status quo should be maintained". The memorandum also states that "the question of examining whether primary education in the mother tongue is practical or not should not arise at this stage, since the government has been practicing the financing of primary education only in Konkani, Marathi and other Indian languages for more than 20 years.
The same man who asks the government to hold a statewide debate, also advises the government to maintain status quo. That reminds me of another article in the newspapers about "Forked Tongues".
Further, a policy that is being followed for the last 20 years cannot be changed to move with the times? Is the government static?
Mr. Afonso has rightly pointed out that marathi is mother tongue in the neighbouring State, which also has konkani speaking areas, yet we dont see this state giving equal status to konkani. I have put this question to marathiwadis before and they have never being able to answer it. Another excuse is that marathi is used in religious rituals, if the catholic church in goa can have its proceeding in konkani despite most of the literature either being in english or latin, why can't the same happen to hindu rituals.
ReplyDeleteGiving equal status to konkani and marathi in Goa is bound to cause friction among people, if not now than sometime in the future. I had this experience in the library of once considered fine instituition atop althinho hill. To my every query in konkani and english, the librarian responded in marathi. I had to plainly tell her that I dont understand what she was saying even though I understood marathi, to which she replied in english that how come I did not marathi, my answer was that I am in Goa, not in maharashtra and our mother tongue is konkani.
So tussles are and will be more common.
So marathiwadis, there is no problem if you choose speak marathi, but please don't impose it on Goans.
Hmmmm so we lost the Agitation! Marathi got its way, guess, we are still not strong and united enough to make a change…. Shame on us all!
ReplyDelete