Cong compelled BJP to continue grants to Eng schools: Parrikar
GOANEWS DESK, PANAJI | 18 January 2016 22:50 IST
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has found a new justification for its U turn on Medium of Instruction. And this time it’s none other than its arch rivals – the Congress as well as Digambar Kamat.
Defence minister Manohar Parrikar today told his workers that the decision of the Congress government compelled his government (when he was the chief minister) to continue government grants to the Church-run 130 primary schools in English medium.
Cancellation of grants to the Church-run English medium primary schools was one of the major slogans of the BJP to come to power in 2012 election.
While the BJP is still not in a ‘mood’ to cancel these grants while next election is round the corner, Parrikar now blames the Congress government as well as then chief minister Digambar Kamat for it.
“If we had cancelled grants to these schools, hundreds of teachers would have become surplus. That’s why we continued the grants”, he told the large gathering of district and mandal committee leaders of his party gathered in Panaji today.
Adding a bit from his side to the justification, Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar said he plans to continue grants to the Church-run schools because the students studying in these schools are all Goans.
FREEZING GRANTS TO MINORITIES
Taking a step ahead, Parrikar also announced that the BJP government has decided to freeze the government grants.
“No more English medium primary schools will get government grants because we believe that primary education should be in the mother tongue”, said the former CM.
The Goa School Education Amendment bill, which is presently before the select committee of Goa Assembly, proposes to make an exception to give government grants to the English medium primary schools, only run by the minority institutes.
While opposing this amendment, BJP’s coalition partner – the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party – had asked why the government is not giving grants to all the minority institutions as well as other privately run English medium primary schools.
But Parrikar’s statement makes it clear that no other minority institute than Church-run Diocesan Board of Education would get government grants to run English medium primary schools.
The BJP-led coalition has gone back on the assurance given to the FORCE, which is agitating for grants to English medium schools, to pass the amendment bill in the winter session, which already concluded last week.
On the other hand, the Bharatiya Bhasha Suraksha Manch led by Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh is on the loggerheads with its own political party, demanding that the grants be scrapped.
In this background, CM Parsekar today once again reiterated that grants to Church-run schools would continue.
Parrikar also appealed to the party workers not to associate with both these organisations, which are all out to criticise and condemn the BJP.
He also told his party cadres that no other party could have found a better solution than the one proposed by his party government to resolve the issue of Medium of Instruction, in relation with government grants.
Let all schools get grants irrespective of MoI religion creed or caste What is required is EDUCATION not dirty politics and communalism
Be it Savio Laapit or Sellingkar or Parrikar or Paadrigaar
I fully agree with Goa for Goans.