This very erudite and thoughtful piece by Minister Faleiro may well be a plea that emanates from a voice in the Goa wilderness. I see no further need to expand on his thesis that the adoption of English, creole English actually, has hurt the interests and prospects of Catholics, specially the young. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Governmentannounced recently the provision of Rs. 400/- per month per student of primaryschools which impart education through Konkani or Marathi as an incentive tothem. Indeed, in Goa, the language of study at the primary level should be eitherKonkani or Marathi. Konkani is the mother tongue of the people of Goa. Marathiis and has always been the literary language of a large segment of ourpopulation. There is no justification for English as a medium of instruction atthe primary level. It should be the second language from the third standardonwards. The Diocesan Society of Education should ensure that its primaryschools teach through Konkani and Marathi and stop teaching through the Englishmedium. Konkani should be taught in the Devnagri script as it will provideaccess to Marathi and to Hindi which is the national language. Children willlearn the romi script when they learn English.
Theimportance of national languages and the assertion of national culturalidentity is growing everywhere in the world. In emerging India it will benecessary to be fluent in at least two Indian languages, the local language andHindi for success. English is at present the main international language. Inthis globalised world, the importance of English is inescapable and English maybe taught as a subject from the third standard. Parents have the right todecide on the medium of instruction for their children. However, under Art. 21A of the Constitution it is for the State to determine the medium ofinstruction in the schools to which it will provide grants for free education. Inthe next generation those who are not fully conversant with national languagesare likely to be deprived of jobs and other spheres of activity. Emigrationwill also become difficult. All countries including those in the West and the Gulfcountries have enhanced their immigration controls and increasingly providejobs only to their own nationals. Itis incorrect to say that studying at the primary level in the local languageimpairs academic performance. During the colonial rule some children wouldstudy in Marathi primary schools and then enrol themselves in the PortugueseLyceum. They performed as well, and sometimes better, than their counterpartswho did their primary education through the Portuguese medium. Some of themwent on to become ministers in the Portuguese Government, senior advocates andjudges at the Supreme Court of Lisbon and distinguished themselves asUniversity professors and in other fields of activity in Portugal and elsewherein the world. Everychild should get quality education. It is essential that schools should beequipped with qualified teachers. It is of fundamental importance to havequality training programmes for Konkani and Marathi teachers. There are somesuch training programmes at present but they need to be much more comprehensiveand effective. Government should scheduleprogrammes to sensitize parents as to the need for their children to learn inthe mother tongue. The State Government and the schools may collaborate withthe West Zone Cultural Centre under the Union Ministry of Culture to conductprogrammes for children so that they appreciate their national heritage andculture. There are also private organizations such as SPIC MACAY and INTACHthat conduct similar programmes for children. Government declared lastmonth that it will grant a one time financial assistance on humanitariangrounds to those persons who were directly or indirectly involved in thefreedom struggle of Goa but could not be declared as freedom fighters forfailing to meet the eligibility conditions as provided under the FreedomFighters Welfare Rules. It is necessary that the specific criteria to identifythe recipients of this proposed financial assistance are made public. Itis very important to preserve the memory and teachings of the leaders of ourFreedom Movement. In 2011, I arranged for a portrait of Dr. T. B. da Cunha,known as the Father of our Freedom Struggle, and at my instance it was unveiledin the Central Hall of Parliament on December 19, the 50thAnniversary of Goa Liberation by the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, in the presenceof the Prime Minister, Union Ministers, Leaders of Opposition in the Lok Sabhaand Rajya Sabha, Congress President and the three Goan MPs. The portrait is nowon permanent display at the Parliament House along with those of the foremostnational leaders Mahatma Gandhi, Pandit Nehru, Sardar Patel and others. Thereafter,I requested the then Speaker of the Goa Legislative Assembly that the portraitsof Dr. T. B. da Cunha as well as of the other leaders of the Goa FreedomMovement be displayed in our Legislative Assembly. He wrote to me that it wouldbe done but this has not happened so far. It should be done now. Selectedwritings of Dr. T. B. da Cunha were published in 1961 under the caption “Goa’sFreedom Struggle”. The book is presently out of print. It should be reprintedand included in the curriculum of schools and colleges so that it provides amuch needed sense of direction to our society. Thereis concern expressed in Goa about the large scale influx of migrants into ourState. Goa needs migrant labour. However, uncontrolled migration into the Statecan upset its demographic composition and lead to social and economic problems.There are several laws to control migration into the State but these laws arenot being implemented effectively and remain largely on paper. The InterstateMigrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act of1979, The Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act of 1970 and the GoaDaman and Diu Inter State Migrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment andConditions of Service) Rules 1982 are some such laws. The 1979 Act provides forregistration of all contractors who employed five or more interstate migrantson any day of the preceding twelve months. The contractors must furnish detailsof the workmen, issue a pass book with passport size photograph to everyworkman indicating where he is working and other details. The State Governmentis required to appoint inspectors to oversee implementation of the Act. The lawdirects builders and labour contractors to provide residential accommodation,sanitation and other facilities to the workers engaged by them. Yet, theseprovisions are ignored and much of the migrant labour lives in slums under themost unhygienic conditions which pose major health hazards to the migrants aswell as to the local people. The machinery for implementation of the Labourlegislation needs to be strengthened urgently and it should not fall prey toinducements from big employers and contractors. Allmigrant workers should be registered compulsorily in the Panchayats andMunicipalities. Aadhar cards as well as Public Distribution System (PDS) cardsshould be issued to them to avoid having to buy foodgrains and kerosene at highprices. The State Government should hold a yearly audit of all contractors whoemploy migrant workers and submit a report to the State Legislature for itsscrutiny. It should also open an Internet portal indicating the contractors andmigrant workers in Goa for public information and verification. (The writer is a former Union Minister) __._,_.___ Posted by: Eduardo Faleiro <[email protected]> | Reply via web post | • | Reply to sender | • | Reply to group | • | Start a New Topic | • | Messages in this topic (1) | Have you tried the highest rated email app? With 4.5 stars in iTunes, the Yahoo Mail app is the highest rated email app on the market. What are you waiting for? Now you can access all your inboxes (Gmail, Outlook, AOL and more) in one place. Never delete an email again with 1000GB of free cloud storage. �Research� is not bias-free, but we can try to make it emotion-free! [Moderator] Visit Your Group - New Members 1 • Privacy • Unsubscribe • Terms of Use __,_._,___ .
