Fernandes’ resolution rejected
Lourenco withdraws his resolution
Differences arise over definition of mother tongue
BY A GT REPORTER
PANJIM: The outcome was status quo. Yet, Calangute MLA Agnel Fernandes and Curtorim MLA Aleixo Reginald Lourenco, through their Private Members’ Resolutions managed to eke out an assurance from Education Minister Atanasio Monserrate that he would hold threadbare discussions on the issue.
“If aid is to be given to English schools, we will discuss the issue thoroughly,” Monserrate remarked.
Earlier, forces allegedly inimical to the disbursal of grants to English medium primary schools went hammer and tongs at a Resolution tabled by Lourenco, who finally agreed to withdraw it after Monserrate’s assurance.
Opposition leader Manohar Parrikar cast his lot with a section of status-quoist on the policy to restrict grants to schools imparting primary education in Marathi/Konkani.
Earlier, the resolution on almost the same issue moved by Agnelo Fernandes was rejected on technical grounds.
Parrikar defines mother tongue
In a cruel irony of sorts, Parrikar’s stand came amidst his own definition of ‘mother tongue’, quoted from voluminous dictionaries in the House. Drawing heavy technical support from the dictionaries, he went on to describe the mother tongue as ‘a person’s native or vernacular language’ aka ‘language of the peer group’.
Turning well established shibboleths on their head, Parrikar went on to denote an altogether new connotation to the concept when he quipped: “Mother tongue is not the language which is on the tips of the mother’s tongue. It is the native language.” Parrikar argued that he had no opposition to teach English at the primary level but with a rider that the government should not subsidise such education. He felt the school of thought favouring English is creating a “new class of illiterates”.
Interestingly, the full House listened to the opposition leader in rapt attention even as Speaker Pratap Singh Rane while gauging the mood of the House extended its sitting by another 15 minutes.
First move rejected
Coincidentally, Parrikar’s stand came immediately after he rose to wholeheartedly endorse Speaker Pratapsing Rane’s opinion that Fernandes’ resolution was technically ‘infructuous’ since it had sought changes to the Goa Education Act 1986 when the same should have read Goa Education Act 1984.
Fernandes insisting that his application to the Speaker vis-a-vis this resolution was impeccable and technically unflawed and claimed that he discovered the discrepancy only after he received the agenda. To this, Speaker Rane retorted that it was Fernandes’ duty to point out this anomaly much before tabling the Resolution.
Egged on by Parrikar, this, the Speaker felt, gave him enough scope to reject the Resolution for the day and requested Fernandes to move it during the monsoon session.
Fernandes however put up a spirited defence of his school of thought and cited example of how learned judges of Courts underlined the importance of English while stating in their judgement that students of villages can’t compete with their counterparts from cities due to lack of proficiency in English. He later resigned to his seat.
Lourenco counters Parrikar
This led Lourenco to rise in defence of Fernandes. Lourenco wanted the House to consider his Resolution seeking amendment to government policy on primary education and bring it in tune with Rule 6 of the Goa School Education Rules to give grant in aid to all primary schools where the teaching at the primary stage is in the mother tongue of the child irrespective whether it is in vernacular language or otherwise.
Diametrically different from Parrikar’s definition of the mother tongue, Lourenco quoted from the Goa Education Rules, which he said defined the mother tongue as under: ‘Mother tongue is what is declared in writing by the parents of the ward at the time of admission.’
He cast his lot in favour of parents deciding about the mother tongue.
“Primary schools in English/Konkani/Marathi must be given grants-in-aid. For such English schools, Konkani/Marathi can be introduced as compulsory subject from Std II,” was his opinion.
