BY A GT REPORTER
PANJIM: On the face of it, Friday's House proceedings on the medium of instruction may look like English bit the dust, but behind the scenes, the state government is seriously contemplating tinkering with its primary education policy, to give parents the choice to decide their children's medium of instruction.
The agenda promised to be explosive, but in the end, it turned out to be lame-duck with both the ruling party legislators, MLA Agnelo Fernandes and Aleixo Reginaldo Lourenco, withdrawing their resolutions aimed at giving English education a window in the primary education policy.
And, much of the no-show on Friday, had its moorings in hectic behind-the-scenes cajoling, arm-twisting, brain-washing, etc., in typical Congress style during which Fernandes and Lourenco were short of assured, informed that the government will indeed revisit the policy, albeit without much ado.
That the duo's move has at least got the government thinking seriously, is evident with what Education Babush Monserrate, who in the House assured to get his ministry to do a 'chintan', had to say.
"I feel that somewhere our language should be protected. The best way is to enforce Konkani as a subject from class I to X," Monserrate told GT, betraying his own pro-English bent of mind.
He said, the government would crystalise and find a solution to satisfy everybody sooner rather than later.
"Some solution, but by protecting our mother tongue, we will work out. Government taking control over the fee structure of private schools is an option. The Goa School Education Act and Rules prohibit exhorbitant fees. It is high time we implement it now," Monserrate said.
Backroom chat
Sources also told GT that both Monserrate and Chief Minister Digambar Kamat held at least two meetings with Fernandes and Lourenco a day before the issue was to come up in the House, aimed at getting them to back down and "avoid controversy" on this issue.
GPCC president, Subhash Shirodkar attended both these meetings as did Home Minister Ravi Naik. MGP's Sudhin Dhavlikar, who attended only the second meeting held at the CM's chamber in the legislature complex however opposed any change.
At these twin meetings, the CM is learnt to have said that the government was abreast of the ground reality that parents want the choice to decide their children's medium of instruction. However, he urged both the MLAs, to "help avoid any further controversy over the issue."
