MARGAO: Parents in Salcete are simmering with anger against MLAs who failed to follow up on the medium of instruction (MoI) promises.
A little over a month ago, PTA groups in Salcete called on their respective MLAs and submitted memorandums urging the MLAs to press the government to grant legislative sanctity to English medium schools.
Angry that the MLAs failed to follow up on their promises, the parents have warned the MLAs who let down the parents would not have their support at the upcoming 2017 elections.
Parents say that yet another assembly session has passed by without any progress on their demand, therefore, they “can no longer trust the MLAs that they would fulfil their promise in the next five years.”
“The parents trusted the MLAs especially those that had given assurance in writing on MoI and the MLAs have let the parents down. As an organisation, our focus is only on MoI; and we feel that any more assurances given by the MLAs, with elections in mind, will have no value. Towards the end, yet another committee has been formed and the MLAs allowed the government to use these delaying tactics to avoid implementing our demands in every assembly session,” said Savio Lopes, FORCE secretary.
“FORCE will ask each contestant to make their stand on MoI clear for the upcoming elections,” Savio said.
It may be recalled that the Forum For Rights of Children Education (FORCE) had submitted a memorandum to the chief minister’s office on behalf of parents, to reject the present advisory committee set up by the government to look into the issue of MoI.
They had demand that the present committee be scrapped and that parent’s choice be respected. They had also demanded that the government introduce the bill in terms of the approved Cabinet note and pass the same during the monsoon session of the Goa legislative assembly.
They pointed out that the MoI issue had been settled through meetings and discussions of different stakeholders — be it the parents, educationists, and even the consultative committee set up by the government itself — and thereafter the cabinet note was approved. In terms of the Cabinet note dated July 1, 2014, the bill on MoI was tabled in the legislative assembly but due to some errors in the same to which some members had objected, it was referred to the select committee.
“Unless another assembly session is held, the government had the last opportunity in the recently concluded assembly to pass this. But we do not expect them to pass it and the new committee will probably be dysfunctional like the previous select committee that did not even hold regular meetings,” said Savio.
