MARGAO: Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar Friday said that the grants to the 135 English medium primary schools will not be stopped by his government under pressure from anybody.
Speaking to media on the sidelines of a function held at the Damodar Higher Secondary School in Margao for distribution of laptops to the Salcete higher secondary schools, Parsekar said, “I have the mantra of the Prime Minister ‘sab ka saath, sab ka vikas.’ I cannot stop grants to the English primary schools. If we do it, students of the 135 schools will be disturbed and hundreds of teachers will become surplus. The government has to pay them. It will be an unnatural thing to change the present system. I do not wish to take a decision, which will disturb the communal harmony that exists in the state.”
Parsekar, however, said that the ruling BJP MLAs are firm that primary education has to be acquired in the mother tongue and, therefore, the government has considered all applications for Konkani schools and granted them the permission to go ahead. “We are not encouraging primary education through the English medium. That is certain. But we do not want to disturb the present setup and create unnecessary confusion,” he said.
Asked whether the decision on the medium of instruction (MoI) has been taken by the government keeping the election year in mind, Parsekar replied in the negative and said that for him, Goa’s unity is important than votes. “A rough survey by me in 21 BJP constituencies has revealed that we have not been exclusively elected only from the cent percent Hindu-dominated constituencies. If that was the case, why could BJP not win in Valpoi and Poriem?” he questioned.
Asked to comment on the demands of the Bharatiya Bhasha Suraksha Manch (BBSM) and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the Chief Minister said, “I belong to RSS, but I also have my other responsibilities and that is what I have learnt. As a chief minister, I cannot create confusion between two religions.” He said though former education minister Shashikala Kakodkar changed the medium from English to Konkani in primary schools, it was only on paper. “English was taught in the schools. I will not do what she did,” Parsekar said.
The BBSM is demanding that the grants provided by the government to the English medium primary schools in the state be stopped.
Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Minister said that the government is committed to provide all necessary financial help to the educational institutions with the sole intention of creating infrastructural ambience and to obtain cent per cent literacy. He said that the government has on several occasions even obtained loans and given grants and subsidy to educational institutions. He said that he is only carrying forward the visionary schemes of the former chief minister and present Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar.