Select Com met only twice, no decision taken on MoI issue
GOANEWS DESK, PANAJI | 22 December 2015 20:16 IST
The select committee related to the controversial Medium of Instruction issue has met only twice in last one year with reaching no conclusion on the crucial issues.
In fact, after taking over as the education minister, Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar has met the committee members only once.
Also, there is no meeting of the select committee convened so far while hardly 11 working days are remaining for the five-day winter session to begin on 11 January.
Disclosing this to goanews.com, one of the select committee members said it appears almost impossible that the Goa School Education (Amendment) bill 2014 will come before the House.
The divided Goans are once again on the streets, accusing and challenging each other, in the background of the bill that would make it a law to continue government grants to Church-run English medium primary schools.
As per the information gathered in this regard, the eight-member committee has met only twice since it was constituted on 21 August last year, headed by the education minister.
The first meeting was convened by then chief minister Manohar Parrikar on 20 October last year where the committee had not reached any conclusion on the major issue.
The second meeting was convened when Parsekar took over, on 9 April this year, but was postponed last minute.
The meeting was then held 20 April, where reportedly CM Parsekar asked for more time for him to study the issue.
No meeting is held since then.
The Bharatiya Janata Party-led coalition government has assured the Forum for the Right of Children’s Education (FORCE) to amend the law in the winter session, which will end on 15 January.
The Bharatiya Bhasha Suraksha Manch, led by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and few stalwarts of Konkani movement, has taken up a state-wide movement, opposing the amendment.
BACKGROUND
The amendment bill was presented in the House on 19 August while it was referred to the select committee on 21 August last year.
The members of the committee are Nilesh Cabral, Pramod Sawant, Kiran Kandolkar and Rajan Naik of the BJP, Lavoo Mamledar of the MGP and Mauvin Godinho and Digambar Kamat of the Congress.
Section 5 of the Goa School Education (Amendment) Bill 2014, seeking amendment to Goa, Daman and Diu School Education Act 1984, states as under:
(5) No grants or aid in any form whatsoever shall be given or extended to any primary school within the State of Goa unless it has Konkani/Marathi or any of the languages envisaged in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India, as its medium of instruction imparting education:
Provided that the State Government may consider providing grants to minority schools having English as a medium of instruction and imparting education at the primary level subject to compliance with other provisions of this Act.
