TEAM HERALD
MARGAO: The Forum for Rights of Children’s Education (FORCE), which was in the forefront of the agitation on the medium of education (MoI) has threatened to restart its agitation against the government with its secretary Savio Lopes threatening to go on a hunger strike. FORCE expressed its frustration that despite cabinet decisions and umpteen meetings, the government has still not made changes in the Education Act.
Warning that parents have the capacity to ‘bring the 40 legislators to their knees’, Lopes, alleged that the government schools were pressurized to choose Marathi and so they had come up with the figure of 35,000 students while in fact, students in government schools are not more than 10,000.
At its general body meeting held in Margao, the forum has resolved to intensify their agitation against the ‘double speak’ of the government with Secretary of Diocesan Society of Education Fr Zeferino D’Souza, telling parents that 2017 (assembly election) is not too far and parents have to be ready for a fight. “Please stay united for future endeavours,” he told parents.
Present at the meeting were executive members of FORCE and more than 350 parents and Parents Teacher Association members.
Lopes, while speaking at the meeting said they are frustrated with the delay tactics of the government, and that the executive Committee will be now having continuous sessions to chalk out the plan to go about the demands of the forum.
“The Act is a blunder. We have been calling on the Government for three months and several frustrating meetings were held. But the act wasn’t even placed,” he said and threatened to go on a hunger strike if the Government doesn’t make the suggested changes to the Act, appealing to PTA members and parents to support him in this action.
Lopes said that the forum, along with the parents and the members of Parents Teachers Associations, have the capacity to paralyze the government and bring the 40 elected representatives to their knees arguing that FORCE had worked hard and pushed the government to take a cabinet decision and make changes in the Act.
Lopes added “But to the surprise of everyone the act, which came out, is completely opposite to the cabinet decision.”
At the general body meeting the forum has requested likeminded parents and PTA members to mobilize other parents and supporters for this cause. FORCE has expressed lot of disbelief on the government’s functioning because there have been three cabinet decisions but the demands are not even near being met.
The forum has in a way hinted that the operations of FORCE have not halted and announced that it will get feedback from parents and PTA members. The organization will soon hold a general body meeting and put into action the feedback received at these meetings.
