With the Assembly elections likely by end February, the government simply does not want to open up a pandora’s box on the issue of grants for English medium schools. It feels it has managed a fine balance by continuing to give grants for English schools, run by the Diocesan Society but not adding more schools. At the same time, the attack against it by the BBSM and its newly formed political wing, the Goa Suraksha Manch, has allowed the government to take a high moral ground that it did not buckle under pressure of the groups wanting English grants to be scrapped.
However, this has not completely assuaged the feelings of FORCE, fighting to legalise grants for English schools, and hopefully increase the ambit to all schools and not just the Church- backed ones. When the decision was taken by the cabinet to constitute the advisory committee on July 12, both the BBSM and FORCE dismissed it as a delaying tactic. BBSM had even said that the term of the committee would be extended and that is precisely what has happened. Thus it doesn’t take a political punditry to figure exactly what the government is doing with this hot potato called MoI. It is just not touching it. Extending the term by three months would take the term of the committee to February, when the code of conduct will be place and the elections will be weeks of not days away. So nothing effective can be expected out of this.
Even if the advisory committee does come out with a report, it won’t be the end of that exercise. Further delays will happen, but justified to make the effort more worthwhile as experts views and reports of foreign committees will be studied. Therefore the wait can be very long and even endless, unless a new and different government takes the bull by the horns and takes a final call.
Meanwhile, the advisory committee too has taken its steps very gingerly, having chosen to go to North Goa talukas first – Pernem, Tiswadi, Bardez, Bicholim, Sattari and Valpoi- without going to Salcete and South Goa. Hence, it is quite likely that with the code of conduct coming into place, the forays into South Goa for meetings and discussions with various stakeholders will not really materialise.
But, at the same time, irrespective of the fact that both sides have hardened their stands, it is so important to Goa for indeed have a wider consultation with real people on the ground and get feedback. Civic society organisations including Parents Teachers Associations, school managing committees and teachers associations must be spoken to.
This is an issue which has unfortunately created divisions within Goan society but this can well be healed. But taking this out of politics and engaging in an honest discourse is the need of the hour but sadly this need has been sacrificed at the altar of politics.
