Primary education in Marathi or Konkani must for grants
TEAM HERALD
teamherald@herald-goa.com
PANJIM: The Manohar Parrikar-led BJP government did a deft balancing act by deciding to make education in either Marathi or Konkani compulsory in all aided schools till class IV from next academic year. However, minority schools have been exempted from this ruling and allowed to continue their education in English with certain conditions, in a bid to find a solution to the vexed medium of instruction controversy.
Konkani or Marathi has been made a compulsory subject from Classes V to X in all minority as well as unaided schools; and aided and unaided schools where MoI is English, will have to also compulsorily make use of bilingual text books for all subjects.
Also salary grants shall be permitted to all minority primary schools that besides teaching in Konkani or Marathi, also teaching in English.
No salary grants of any nature will be given to private unaided schools.
Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar speaking to media after the cabinet meeting where the MoI policy was cleared also said that permission would be given for a Konkani DEd course, subject to approvals from authorities. The government was also contemplating on giving support to institutions in case there is an increase in the students in the BEd courses.
The chief minister who holds Education portfolio also said that no new schools would be allowed until mapping of all schools was done ~ hinting that he felt that the number of schools was already high and that they wanted to ensure that 75% of students would have to be admitted from neighbouring areas. “Balance 25% can be filled in only after 75% is filled up,” he said.
Saying that he was 90% happy with the present MoI road map, he said that though he personally felt that education should be universally in the mother tongue, he had to take everybody’s views in consideration as this was a democracy.
For the policy on the pattern of assistance and recognition of schools in Goa, all primary schools have been divided into three: ~ (i) those which impart education upto Class IV in Konkani or Marathi medium or any other language listed under VIII schedule of the Constitution with one of the subject as English; (ii) Minority institutions; and (iii) those imparting education at primary level in English medium.
According to the policy, all secondary schools other than Konkani or Marathi medium schools will teach Konkani or Marathi as one of the subjects from Class V to Class X and subject to the notes in Policy document, salary grants will be permitted to all primary schools under the first category to teach in Konkani or Marathi as also languages listed under VIII schedule of the Constitution.
According to the policy, institutions opting for English medium for teaching other subjects shall be provided with bilingual books (having English along with Konkani/ Marathi text) for use in schools by Government and bi-lingual teaching will be permitted to explain difficult topics to students.
“No new schools shall be permitted to be opened at primary level until the mapping of the schools is carried out and need of additional schools are defined categorically,” says the policy, adding, “admission shall be based on neighborhood concept.”
Also “Konkani/Marathi shall be a compulsory subject at primary level for all the schools listed at A(i), A(ii) and A(iii).”
In 1983 it was the government headed by Pratapsing Rane that decided that Konkani or Marathi be made as compulsory subject in all English medium primary schools. And in 1990 Education Minister Shashikala Kakodkar decided that grants would be given to those primary schools which have switched over to mother tongue as medium of instruction. After this many institutions shifted from English Medium to Konkani/Marathi for Classes I to IV.
The number of Konkani medium primary schools increased to 103 and English medium primary schools reduced to 22 only. Kakodkar also decided not to allow any new English medium primary schools in the State. However, subsequent governments allowed schools and the number reached 139 English primary unaided schools, by 2011-12 having enrollment of 21,472 i.e. (24% of total enrollment)
In 2011 there was a demand from section of parents asking for grants to English Medium Primary Schools at primary level in grant in aid institutions. The then government agreed to the demand resulting in 135 institutions mostly shifting from Konkani to English medium overnight.
