Team Herald
PANJIM: Senior Congress leader and former Union Minister Eduardo Faleiro demanded that the Diocesan Society of Education (DSE) ensure its schools adopt Konkani or Marathi as medium of instruction at the primary level.
Addressing the media, Faleiro said that in Goa, the language of study at the primary level should either be Konkani or Marathi. He stated that while Konkani is the mother tongue of the people of Goa, Marathi is and has been the literary language of a large segment of our population.
He said, “There is no justification for English as a medium of instruction at the primary level. It could be the second language from the third standard onwards. The Diocesan Society of Education should ensure that its primary schools teach through Konkani and Marathi and stop teaching through the English medium.”
He emphasised that Konkani be taught in the Devanagri script only as it will provide access to Marathi and Hindi. “Children will learn Konkani in the Roman script when they learn English,” he added.
Defending his demand he said the importance of national languages and assertion of national cultural identity is growing. “In emerging India it will be necessary to be fluent in at least two Indian languages – the local language and Hindi for success,” he stated.
He pointed out that all countries including the Gulf countries have now begun to control immigration and increasingly provide jobs only to their own nationals.
He said, “In the next generation those who are not fully conversant with national languages are likely to be deprived of jobs and other spheres of activity. Emigration will also become difficult. English is at present the main international language. In the globalised world, the importance of English is inescapable and English may be taught as a subject from the third standard.”
He said, “Parents have the right to decide the MoI for their children. However, under Article 21(A) of the Constitution, it is for the State to determine the MoI in the schools to which it will provide grants for free education.”
Faleiro also demanded that the government provide quality education to students.
“Quality education is lacking, especially in the Konkani medium and as a result many government primary schools are shutting down,” he stated.
