|
Thousands
in Goa demand English as medium of instruction
Monday March 21, 2011 09:12:41 PM,
IANS
|
|
Related Articles |
|
English
or Konkani: Goa debates on what to use in schools
Lawmakers and
parents in Goa are debating whether English or mother tongue Konkani
should be the medium of instruction (MOI) in schools upto Class 8.
Education Minister Atanasio Monserrate told the Goa legislative
assembly Friday that
» |
Panaji: Thousands of
people, mostly parents of school-going children and nearly all of Goa's Catholic legislators, converged here Monday demanding that
grants must be given to primary schools offering English as the
medium of instruction.
The rally organised by the Forum for Rights of Children's Education
(FORCE), comes in the wake of the Right to Education (RTE) Act,
which envisions the child's mother tongue as the medium of
instruction - Konkani in case of Goa.
The act is scheduled to be ratified in the state assembly soon.
"The parents have the right to choose what medium their child should
study in. The government should de-link grants from medium of
instruction clause. Grants should also be given to schools offering
English as a medium of instruction, not just Konkani or Marathi,"
said Savio Lopes, secretary of FORCE.
The rally attracted around 15,000 people, who had braved the
blistering March heat.
The Goa government in 1991 had announced its decision to grant aid
only to primary schools where the medium of instruction is either
Konkani or Marathi, keeping English medium schools off the list.
Most Catholic Church-run schools in Goa had then shifted to Konkani
medium for want of government aid.
This in turn, led to a spurt in the number of private schools
offering primary education in English at exorbitant fees.
Former speaker Tomazinho Cardozo, who was headmaster of a
diocesan-run school, said: "This is a conspiracy against diocesan
schools. The circular denying grants to English medium schools also
says that there should be no more permissions for the starting of
private English schools.
But since then more than 127 private English medium schools have
come up with the permission of the government. It is to put down the
diocesan schools."
Most schools operated by the Archdiocesan Board of Education, a
Church run-body, will not receive grants if they adopt English as
the medium of instruction.
Goa has a Catholic population of nearly 26 percent and the Roman
Catholic Church is very active in the social and educational
sectors.
|
|
Home |
Top of the Page |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Top
Stories |
|
Minority Panel chief says can't do much on
release of Muslim youths; Khurshid silent
Even as the demand to release the Muslim
youths was vociferously raised by Maharashtra State Minority
Commission at
»
Maha
minority panel to demand Muslim youths' release at National meet
Jail
Bharo Tehreek now looks certain in Malegaon
|
|
|
|
Most
Read |
|
 One of
Gaddafi's sons dies in hospital: Reports
One of
Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's sons has died in a hospital in
Tripoli, opposition websites and Arab media reported Monday. »
West
bombs Libya, Gaddafi vows 'long drawn war' |
|
End
rights abuses in Kashmir, Amnesty tells India
Amnesty International has lashed out at India over alleged human
rights violations in terror-riven Jammu and Kashmir and asked it to
revoke a controversial law under which suspects are held
»
Autonomy
recommendations fuel political debate in Kashmir
|
|
|
|
News Pick |
|
 India has
abandoned Aung Sun Suu kyi, Indians have not
India has abandoned the Aung Sun Suu
kyi, the democratic icon of Myanmar is the startling revelation that
WikiLeaks has made with
»
|
|
Bodies of
four alleged US spies found in Pakistan
The
bullet-riddled bodies of four men killed by Taliban fighters
allegedly for spying for the US were found Monday in Pakistan's
restive North Waziristan tribal district along the Afghan border,
officials said. The bodies of three
»
|
|
Congress,
Trinamool reach accord for Bengal polls
Ending weeks of suspense, the Congress and the Trinamool Congress
Monday agreed on seat-sharing for the April-May West Bengal assembly
polls. Under the deal, Trinamool will contest 227 seats while the
Congress
»
|
|
Waqf
Misuse, most systematically managed daylight robbery in India
Waqf corruption in India can be said to symbolise the most
systematically-managed daylight robbery in India, perpetrated over
decades. Waqf boards have almost institutionalised the
»
|
|
Court
asks illegal Delhi mosque to relocate
The Delhi
High Court Monday asked a charitable society, whose illegally built
mosque was razed in Jangpura area of the city, to rebuild the
structure on an alternative site given by the Delhi Development
Authority (DDA).
The DDA
»
|
|
|
|
Picture of the Day |
|
 |
|
President
of India Mrs. Pratibha Devisingh Patil addressing at the
inauguration of the National Festival of Tribal Dances, ‘PRAKRITI’,
in New Delhi on March 16, 2011. Union Minister for Housing
and Urban Poverty Alleviation and Culture, Kum. Selja, Union
Minister for Tribal Affairs Kantilal Bhuria and Minister of
State for Tribal Affairs Mahadev S. Khandela are also seen.
(Photo:
Mukesh Kumar) |
|
|
|
|
Comments
|
Quick links