Change MoI policy or face consequences: Bhembre

TEAM HERALD

teamherald@herald-goa.com

PANJIM: The Bharatiya Bhasha Suraksha Manch (BBSM) Wednesday warned the government of action if it failed to change the Medium of Instruction (MoI) policy forthwith, while objecting to its decision to give grants to English medium primary schools.

The BBSM core group, which met for the first time after the government announced its policy on January 22, 2014, slammed the government for continuing what was initiated by the previous dispensation and said that it opposes grants to schools (whether minority or majority community) where English is the medium of instruction at the primary level.

Adv Uday Bhembre who chaired the meeting in Panjim said, “In the first place the consultative committee appointed to assist the government in formulating the MoI policy appears to be a farce.”

He said that five members of the BBSM core committee including himself (as special invitee) were part of the consultative committee which had no say other than submitting their recommendations to the government committee.

The BBSM, he said, had strongly opposed grants to English medium primary schools, whether minority or majority, as it is not in keeping with the universal principles of education, which advocates that primary education should be in the mother tongue.

Adv Bhembre said that the core committee which met Wednesday, excluding Shashikala Kakodkar, who is unwell, strongly demanded that government change its policy or face consequence, when BBSM will decide its future course of action. It, however, has not set any timeframe for the changes nor has it disclosed the kind of action it will undertake.

“We want the changes to the policy at the earliest,” Bhembre said. “Presently the government has only announced the policy but not yet formulated it,” he said adding that they will be waiting and watching the government stand vis a vis BBSM demands.

The core committee of the BBSM in its meeting today also discussed related issues to the MoI policy on bilingual textbooks. Bhembre said there has been a mixed response to this and doubts raised on whether this would serve any purpose.

Likewise, the move to make Marathi or Konkani a compulsory subject from classes I- X virtually eliminating Hindi as the official language of the Union has also been opposed.

“The BBSM will study the implications of both this issues,” he said demanding, “Right now we want the MoI policy to be changed at the earliest.”