DOES THIS GOVERNMENT LACK LEGAL EAGLES TO INTERPRET LAW? by Nisser Dias

The government specially some of the Congress legislators, members of the adhoc committee of FORCE and parents are optimistic that their demand for English as one of the medium of instructions (MOI) would be a reality very soon. And rightly so it should be as the demand for it from parents of school going children is genuine.

As we are on the threshold of a new academic year, parents who had beat the scorching sun to show solidarity with the church backed movement of parents irrespective of caste, creed, religion and region are expectantly awaiting the final approval from the Union government. Even though chief minister and his cabinet colleagues have dropped enough hints that centre will grant the demands of the parents, would it not be imperative to ask whether the state government is set to print text books in English or is the ploy of the government to wait at the eleventh hour to carry out the exercise or is it a ploy by the government to postpone inclusion of English as medium of instruction by another year which means buying time till the next assembly elections.

Parents must be reminded that chief minister Digambar Kamat comes from the RSS cadre who in turn strongly advocate instruction at the primary level in mother tongue. One should not forget that as a politician the chief minister might be with the parents for the votes but his heart and soul and ideology is with the RSS. Secondly he has made his thoughts very clear that he does not depend upon the Goan voters for his victory at the election. So can we trust this man to do any positive for the Goa and Goans?

Then there is PWD minister Churchill Alemao who was instrumental in forcing the change from English to Konkani and Marathi way back in 1991 through his splinter group which formed the Progress Democratic Front (PDF) government. Today he is singing a different tune not because he realises the difference between instruction in English or mother tongue but because he has too much at stake. He has to first get himself elected at the same time he has to oversee that the victory of his daughter, his brother and nephew. This is a clear indication that a opportunist politician like Churchill has not extended his support for English for the love of students or parents but for his own sustenance as he has made politics his livelihood. He does not only earn his butter and jam and more from politics, he earns his daily bread from it. Thus Churchill Alemao had no other option but to support the stand taken by parents. Basically his support for the cause was more for personal reasons then the genuine cause, so a turncoat like him simply cannot take the credit, if at all English is included as MOI.

Be that as it may, the CM taking a delegation of the interested parties to Delhi is not at all accepted. Members of the adhoc committee of FORCE who have been severely criticized for repeatedly extending the deadlines, in its wisdom went to Delhi, maybe in a bid to stop parents spilling on the road. They may have returned empty handed or rather with assurances and hope from the Union government that their wishes will be granted.

But the fact that the government of Goa had to take a delegation to Delhi to find solution to the issue does not speak very well of the Digambar Kamat led government. It is a known fact that the chief minister along with his entourage of ministers and interested parties had to wait on the Human Resources Development minister Kapil Sibal only to interpret the Right To Education Act speaks volume of lack of administration capabilities and political acumen of Digambar Kamat.

Chief minister along with the Education minister Babush Monserrate should have first consulted lawyers here to interpret and explain the RTE Act to them. Our chief minister should not have made a mockery of Goans by waiting on Union HRD minister Kapil Sibal to throw light on the RTE Act. In the words of chief minister himself it is stated that HRD minister told him that RTE does not speak about any language as compulsory medium of instruction. Does state that boast of have 98 percent literacy rate needs the Union minister to interpret the Act. Has our government lost faith in the legal advisers appointed in the departments, has it lost confidence in the law department or has it lost all the trust in the capabilities of the of the office of the controversial advocate general of Goa? The chief minister is morally responsible to give answers to these questions.

After said and done, after dragging the reputation of Goa and Goans through muck the chief minister still awaits the decision of the centre. Atleast at this stage we needed chief minister Digambar Kamat to display some leadership qualitites but he failed us throughout. If Goa is set an example as a model state to the rest of the country, we need able and bold leadership not some weaklings or sissies to run our state, to take decisions on vexed issues in the state and not run to Delhi to decide every matter or issue or controversy, which our chief minister has indicated so often that he is incapable of doing.

If at all English becomes one of the MOI languages, the credits and dues should not go to any politician but to each and every parent including members of the FORCE for being adamant in their demand.