NT NETWORK
PANAJI
Director of education G P Bhat on Tuesday said that he has received the memorandum from the FORCE delegation.
“I will be forwarding the memorandum to the State Council of Educational Research and Training for studying the same,” he added.
Convenor of Bharatiya Bhasha Suraksha Manch Subhash Velingkar, reacting to the FORCE memorandum said the BBSM has no objection to the choice of the parents to the medium of instruction for their wards. “They can admit their children in whichever schools they like,” he observed, however, what we object is pressurising the government to go against the national norms of education, and give grants to something, for which they are not meant.
“The FORCE is linking two different things,” Velingkar retorted, questioning that if the choice is of the parent, then why does the government have to pay for it through its exchequer, especially when the choice is about something, which is outside the purview of the national educational norms, formulated based on the culture and tradition of this country.
“Therefore, although everyone in this country has a right to present memorandums, the government should stick to the national educational norms,” he maintained.
The Konkani protagonist and one of the leaders of the BBSM Uday Bhembre said the demand of the FORCE is insipid and hence should be immediately rejected by the government.
“First of all, every parent already has the right towards choice of medium of instruction for his son or daughter, and therefore, demanding what already exists has no meaning,” he added, pointing out that the issue of contention is government grants to the English schools, as government only provides grants – which form support to a particular language or languages – as per the national educational principals, and the parents cannot demand grants to something, which is outside the policy of the government.
Bhembre also quipped that even if one, for argument’s sake, agrees that over 2 lakh people have signed the FORCE memorandum, then the fact remains that rest of the 14 lakh people in Goa have not signed it. “The government should take note of this fact while studying the memorandum,” he concluded.