Dear Goanneters,
I think that the problem of education has been "politicized". 1. Konkani is
the language of Goans, the language of Goa State, it is part and parcel of Goan
identity. Then why grants are given also to "regional languages"? Why there
should not be only Konkani medium schools, not Marathi medium schools, which
started in the time of the Portuguese? Why has the Speaker of the Legislative
Assembly stated that "for the Government Konkani ani Marathi have equal
status"? Only Konkani is the official language, not Marathi. No equal status to
Marathi. Nobody is against Marathi. I studied also Marathi for on here.
2. If grants are given for "regional languages" (like Marathi, Kanada, Urdu"),
why not also for English. English is alive in Goa much more than Marathi,
Kannada and Urdu.
3. Grants may not be given to English medium schools, in order to promote
Konkani. But then also Marathi should not be promoted by the Government of Goa
State.
4. Konkani should be taught in Devanagari and Roman scripts. Children will
learn both scripts easily. They will learn easily English and Hindi. Konkani
should be promoted also in Roman script. Otherwise, it will be written only in
Devanagari script, it will be marathized. and may disappear in Maharashtra's
belly. No dialect sould be promoted: antruzi, bardexi or saxttichi. They will
continue with their natural evolution.
5. Konkani is a language, it is not a dialect. Some nasalization may have been
introduced in the course of time, for example, panvlam, instead of pavol,
pavlam.
There should be some uniformity in Konkani writing. This may take some time.
6. Our parents may not understand the problems that may be created for the
future generations. We have to be cautious. Political leaders are misleading.
Let us be united and firm.
Fr.Ivo
Date: Tue, 3 May 2011 21:10:25 +0530
From: <[email protected]>
>From JC: IF Konkani is the mother tongue of Goans, WHY are Marathi schools
> supported and not English schools?>>
> **Dear Sebastian, I do agree with you totally that Konkani is the
> mother-tongue of the children of Goans and that only Konkani medium schools
> are qualified for grants. There are not two mother-tongues. Let the
> Government study the problem with better care. Problems of text books and
> teachers should be solved. Parents are free to send their children to the
> schools of their choice.
> Regards.
> Fr.Ivo
