RAMNATH N PAI RAIKAR | NT
PANAJI
The Bharatiya Bhasha Suraksha Manch crusaders battling to protect the local languages – Konkani and Marathi – by preventing government grants to English medium primary schools in Goa, now have something to cheer about as during the academic year 2016-17, the collective strength of Marathi and Konkani primary students in the state was more than the strength of students studying in government-aided English primary schools
As per the figures provided by the department of education, during the recently concluded academic year, there were a total of 37,245 local language primary students – 31,037 in Marathi medium primary schools and 6,208 in Konkani medium primary schools – studying from class I to class IV, in comparison to 31,811 students studying in altogether 135 grant-in-aid English primary schools, including 127 schools functioning under the Diocesan Society of Education.
However, if one takes into account all those students studying in the 117 unaided English primary schools in Goa numbering 24,704, along with the 31,811 students studying in government-aided English primary schools then the total number of students studying in English primary schools shoots up to a whopping 56,515.
Director of education G P Bhat told this daily that no government primary school exists in the state, with English as its medium of instruction. However, all government primary schools with either Konkani or Marathi as their medium of instruction, compulsorily teach English subject to their students, right from class I to SSC.
He also said that an unaided English primary school from Goa has applied to the department of education, to allow it to change its medium of instruction from English to Konkani from the forthcoming academic year 2017-18.
“Subject to the clearance of this application, this school will receive government grants,” he added, pointing out that the particular school will also start receiving a special grant of Rs 400 per student, per month, which was introduced by the government, last year for the aided Konkani and Marathi schools, so as to provide a boost to them.
It was further informed that during the academic year 2016-17, the government provided the special monthly grant of Rs 400 per student, to a total of 129 grant-in-aid Konkani and Marathi primary schools around the state, collectively amounting to Rs 5.40 crore.
The director of education said the unaided English primary schools in Goa receives no support from the government, nevertheless, they are registered with the department of education.
“These unaided English medium primary schools have to annually submit their respective fee structure to the department of education, and only after receiving approval for the same, can charge the fees as fixed by them,” he informed, noting that furthermore, these schools need to annually present their audited accounts and balance sheets to the department of education.
As per the Section 19 (1) – Fees and other charges – of the Goa School Education Act 1984, “No aided school shall levy any fee or collect any other charge or receive any other payment except those specified by the director (of education). The Section (2) of the Act states, “Every aided school having different rates of fees or other charges or different funds shall obtain prior approval of the prescribed authority before levying such fees or collecting such charges or creating such funds”.