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English Medium Primary Education for Better Future
By Cypriano Lopes, Santa Cruz, Goa
Goans were well known for their English language skills, and were most
sought after in India and abroad. They have excelled in jobs and services.
That is how in the good old days Goans could earn their living in Bombay,
East Africa, U.K. and Gulf countries. Job opportunities were hard to come
by for them in their native land. The only option left was migration to
avoid starvation at home. That is why you find Goans scattered all over the
world.
These were ordinary Goans, who by their sheer hard work, devotion to duty
and honesty, coupled with their mastery over the English language were able
to carve a niche for themselves in diverse fields. The end result was, the
economic uplift of their brethren at home. With one earning member abroad,
entire Goan families could eke out a decent living, and at times, even live
in style.
The missionaries played a vital role in English education in India. Jesuit
run schools and colleges were the most sought after. Admission to these
institutions meant a sure ticket to success. India's most successful
politicians and bureaucrats owe their upward mobility in society to the
Jesuit run institutions.
In Goa the Diocesan and Archdiocesan schools contributed immensely to the
emancipation of the masses. The less privileged common people were able to
educate their children, as these schools were established in every village
and town. The children of the socio-economically backward classes were thus
able to brush shoulders with their peers, who were well off economically and
educated in the best of schools in India and abroad.
Alas, the dreams of the economically weaker sections of society were
shattered in 1990. The High Court order forced the private primary schools
to pay the same pay scales as the government schools. When the private
primary schools approached the government for grants, the government was
willing to give grants only to vernacular medium primary schools, and the
same were denied to English medium primary schools. The Diocesan and
Archdiocesan schools who were pioneers of English medium education, without
giving a second thought overnight switched over to Konknni medium to avail
grants.
The catastrophic effects, of the switch over to Konknni medium, are for
every one to see. The entire education system has turned topsy-turvy. The
haves prefer to send their wards to the mushrooming English medium primary
schools. Whereas the have-nots, have no other option, than to educate their
children in the vernacular medium schools run by the Church.
In Goa the Church runs schools that have their pre-primary nurseries in
English. Then the child is made to switch over to Konknni at the primary
level and then again it is English medium at the secondary level, higher
secondary and college level. Why are the children made to pay for the
follies of someone else? Why is Konknni medium sandwiched between
pre-primary and secondary level? What is the logic behind this irrational
and illogical education system? In the bargain the child is burdened with
shifting of medium. What for? Is it to satisfy the false egos of a few
language protagonists?
Why are the poor parents not given a choice to choose what is best for their
children? What sort of future generations are we trying to produce with
more and more emphasis on vernacular medium of instruction instead of
science and maths?
In this age of globalization, where comparative costs determine the economic
health of a nation, the need of the hour is to build human resource base of
technically sound, efficient and result oriented individuals. We have to
invest in education that lays more stress on research and development.
Because it is from here that cutting edge technologies evolve and economies
grow by leaps and bounds.
Why are we wasting the child's time and skills in changing medium of
instruction and hamper their intellectual growth? Years after the
vernacular medium policy was introduced in Goa, wards of economically
backward communities continue to suffer. The English advantage they enjoyed,
has vanished and students who otherwise scored well in English fail
miserably in SSC & HSSC exams.
The economic health of these marginalized sections of society is pathetic.
They are left with no choice but to seek low paid jobs in Goa and elsewhere.
They are exploited to the hilt wherever they go. They face economic
oppression worse than their fore fathers faced, in pre-independent India.
What role can the church in Goa play to ameliorate the sufferings of these
oppressed classes? It can either be proactive and switch over to English
medium with Konknni as a subject from first Std to tenth. Or maintain an
indifferent silence on the issue. In our neighbouring states English medium
schools are found in most of the villages. These schools are run without
govt. grants. The local Church also runs some of these schools. Why only
in Goa the Church is so adamant to run its schools exclusively in Konknni
medium? Is it for the love of Konknni? Surely not. Otherwise they should
have run Konknni medium schools already prior to 1990. The Church runs
Konknni medium schools only to get government grants. Otherwise why does it
run its pre-primary schools exclusively in English medium? If the Church
seriously believes that education in mother tongue is the best educational
policy, then why does it not run a single middle or secondary school in
Konknni medium?
Fortunately in Goa we have a Chief Minister who is open to funding English
medium education at the primary level. He has time and again emphasized
that the present system is obsolete and redundant, and needs change.
Unfortunately no one has taken up the issue with the CM, who is more
pragmatic, realistic and a man of vision.
Language chauvinism has ruined the Goan society. The over emphasis on
vernacular tongues has hampered our mental abilities to think beyond
scripts. For how long will we hold our future generations to ransom? Can
we compete with other states that produce IAS, IFS and other allied service
cadres by the hundreds?
The need of the hour is economic growth and development. English education
can fuel that change. It can act as a catalyst to boost the growth engines
in the service and allied sectors.
Day by day the private English medium schools are increasing in Goa with
consequent commercialization of education. As a result Diocesan schools are
losing students. In the near future these schools will have only the
physical structure and not sufficient students. This might force the
authorities to close down their schools. If such a thing happens the very
mission of the Church will be defeated.
The Church that once prided itself in quality education to the poor, cannot
remain a silent spectator. It has its own responsibilities and obligations
towards the impoverished sections of society. It can once again decide
boldly and change the face of Goa's education scenario. It is time for
introspection and change for the better. From reliable sources this author
has come to know that some religious congregations would like to change the
medium of instruction to English in the primary schools they run. English
medium primary education is the crying need of the hour. Let at least for
now parents be given an opportunity to choose what is best for their child'
s future. Because only the parents can make the best choice for their child
and no one else, howsoever high we may stand.
Since the topic is of such importance, it calls for reactions from
educationists, parents, teachers, managements, and those who have completed
their schooling in Konknni medium primary schools and are now in college.
Cypriano Lopes
Santa Cruz, Goa
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