By Allwyn Jorge
The MoI issue brought all the parents of English medium schools and other likeminded Goans under one canopy called as ‘FORCE’ unity of which had rattled the knees of the then Congress government and most recently the BJP government and it’s supporting Catholic MLAs. The assurances given to its firebrand leader Savio Lopes just on a plain A4 size paper to pass the MoI Bill in the Assembly signed by a few MLAs to withdraw his indefinite hunger strike holds no legal status but of course in the eyes of the parents is an act of clear betrayal where their every vote will count in the ensuing elections to rout the BJP for their U-turns.
Politicians today are not serious about this very issue which binds all Goan parents together involving the future of our children in a world which is so competitive and Goan students hardly offer much challenge other than at the admission registers of the local higher secondary schools. BBSM, with no parent support or public sympathy, seems to be bereft of any serious leaders rather than a few opportunists who have almost completed their innings and vying to make best use of their slog overs in a match destined in favor of the English medium parents and ‘FORCE’. The latest public flare-up between the BJP and the BBSM only exposes their discreet relationship and agenda to subdue the wishes and aspirations of the parents who hope English will be the fulcrum for their children in their quest for a better future in a highly competitive world.
Our mother tongue Konkani has been always like our mothers who we always love and nurture in our homes with love and respect but English is like our wives with whom we are destined to spent the rest of our lives and face the world together. English is bound to be the gateway for us and our children to a cruel world where the academically weak are shown no mercy or favor but knowledge is the key to a motivated success and a dignified career. What the government and the ill-advised BBSM tends to forget is that no one can give us an concrete assurance that our children, if they study in Konkani or Marathi, will be guaranteed a preferential government job.
The MoI issue had paid rich dividends for the BJP in last elections and driven the last nail in the coffin of the Congress government. The issue still is being left unsettled so that the same can be once again exploited in the ensuing elections while the children still shiver under the present winds of uncertainty and lack of seriousness and sincerity of the politicians. It is to be seen if the BJP government have got their cards right by hoping the Catholic MLAs will rally behind them against the people’s wishes or act now to reinvest in the people’s trust.
While the MoI tango goes into its final round in the run up to the elections where ‘status-quo’ seems to be the only wise foreseeable solution, ‘FORCE’ can rejuvenate itself into ‘Mission Force’ to help students in career guidance and motivation where our education system has miserably failed so that our children do not end up mostly on passenger or cargo ships, casinos, hotels or vie for a Portuguese passport but are able to compete and become future citizens in whom we can look up in pride and emotion. Teachers and academicians today have failed in guiding our students towards a suitable career enhancement program rather than only providing text book literature, outcome of which students then blame their parents for forcing them into domains of non-suitable careers. If the parents look upon ‘FORCE’ to ensure English as MoI for their children, they also feel that ‘FORCE’ can act as a guiding star for their children in their pursuit of success and satisfaction.
