Medium of Instruction - The movement gains momentum

Give our children a good PRESENT

Medium of Instruction is the hot issue in today’s Goa. While parents have asserted their right to choose what is best for the child, the people in power seem to dispute this fundamental right!

Why do we need English as the medium of instruction at the primary level itself? I feel this topic has been debated for years together but no one had the courage to come forth and do something about it. The parents have now given the government a deadline. March 25 2011 is D-Day as far as this medium of instruction issue goes.

There are many concerns raised by different quarters about this issue. May we remind the Leader of the Opposition who is afraid about the fact that Konkanni may go extinct that Konkanni was trampled upon by the colonial rulers for almost 450 years, but it never disappeared. The Rajas and Rulers of those days went into oblivion and were eventually replaced by democracy, but Konkanni never died.

And speaking of democracy, how can you force something down the throats of the people? Are we talking about keeping the agendas of our political and social connections flying Mr Leader of the Opposition or are we talking about the aspirations of the people?

When we think of a technology driven world we think only of English. I have surely heard of many versions of Windows and, of course, about Facebook. But I have not yet heard about ‘Zonelam’ and ‘Tondachem Pustok’! Mind you, I have been computer literate and acquainted with computers; hardware, software, networking et al since 1987. I have been acquainted with the www since 1996. Never have I heard those terms in Konkani.

In today’s world children do not have time to learn the language after they get to Std V. They are already expected by be online downloading information for the projects. When are they going to get acquainted with English? The irony is that a child has to study on four years I Konkani/Marathi. After that it is English all the way. English is accepted as a means of correspondence in government dealings. Even legislature and parliament use English for communication. English is a well established language for communication. We can also call it a link language.

I think it is wrong to defend something wrong. This is a democracy and we must have a choice. We cannot be left with choices that suit a few groups and trusts who want to make English education a business.

It is high time English is added on to the list so that grants can also be given to English medium schools. Let every school decide which medium they want to opt for. This can be done in consultation with their respective PTAs.

When a child is educated in the Konkanni medium and then comes into society, they usually think in Konkanni and then try and translate their thoughts into English and this can give very embarrassing results. As a friend, who has studied in the Konkani medium, once said: “I busy am. I not coming to meet you. I outer outer going. Neighbour noise making near my house. He fighting with my old mother. And and want!”

Well, I guess we can read the meaning for ourselves. But since, except for four years, the rest of our lives is dominated by English as a language of communication, we must rethink our policy. We need to give our children a good live. Remember we need to do it TODAY. I strongly believe that today is a gift and that is why we call it PRESENT. Let us give our children a lovely present at the start of the academic year next year.