Panaji: Parents of school going children in
Goa have formed a group demanding inclusion of English
language as the medium of instruction under Right To Education
(RTE) in the state.
The parents under the banner of `Forum for Rights of
Children`s Education` (FRCE) have called for a massive rally
at Panaji tomorrow to unite a cross section of people over the
issue.
"The Parent-Teachers Association of various schools
across Goa have collected 51,372 signatures on a single day,"
FRCE spokesman Savio Lopes told PTI.
The state Education department is besieged with the
medium of instruction issue as several parents are demanding
that education in Konkani or Marathi, which are state
languages, will cap off students prospects outside Goa.
State Education Minister Atanasio Monserrate has told the
Legislative Assembly that a `policy decision on the issue
would be adopted soon.
FRCE has demanded that English should be allowed as one
of the languages to be used as medium of instruction at the
elementary level in school. The parents have demanded that
Marathi and Konkani should continue as one of the compulsory
subjects in elementary education.
Lopes argued that although RTE states that medium of
instruction at the elementary stage should be in the mother
tongue, it also quickly adds "as far as practicable".
"To maintain continuity not only at the elementary level
but also at all levels, it has been discerned by some of the
state governments that it is practicable to have English as a
medium of instruction as performance of students will improve,
drop out rate will decrease, enrolment in higher education
will go up and quality of education will be enhanced," he
said.
PTI
