FORCE refutes allegations of ‘pressure on parents’ Published on: June 27, 2011 - 01:29
The Forum for Rights of Children’s Education (FORCE), on Sunday, said that it was willing to bring all those almost 40,000 parents that had opted for education in English for their children before the department of education (DoE) authorities, reacting to the accusations of pressure on parents to sign the forms. PANAJI: The Forum for Rights of Children’s Education (FORCE), on Sunday, said that it was willing to bring all those almost 40,000 parents that had opted for education in English for their children before the department of education (DoE) authorities, reacting to the accusations of pressure on parents to sign the forms. The circular on the cabinet decision has already been sent to schools, choices submitted and the guidelines set to come out by June 30. "If they give a date and time we can march these 40,000 parents to Celsa Pinto and Anil Pawar (director and deputy director of Education) and ask them to take a head count," FORCE’s Mr Savio Lopez told media. FORCE is in the forefront of the fight for choice to parents in the medium of instruction in schools. Mr Lopez also opened up another front stating that they were waiting for the final outcome of the forms that were filled and submitted to the government and wanted to know which schools had not submitted the forms. "We will wait for the official results and then see if any parents in those schools want education in English. We will follow it up," he promised. Parents alleged that this fight was more of the one between the Congress and its opponents like the BJP, rubbishing reports that it was being fought on communal lines given that the choice to parents was being supported by present Congress heavyweights like the PWD Minister, Mr Churchill Alemao and the Bharatiya Basha Suraksha Manch (BBSM), agitating against the choice to parents being backed by the Bharatiya Janata Party, the main opposition party, that was giving the muscle to the movement. There were reports that there were some schools in the state including, from the capital, where parents had not been given forms to fill to give their choice according to government directions. The grants to English medium schools issue has turned murky even after the cabinet decided to given grants to schools having English as their medium of instruction along with the mother tongue, Konkanni and the associate language Marathi as government officials are making some contradictory statements, with the circular being issued to schools and the guidelines on the MoI set to come out by June 30. This has led some parents to doubt the intentions of the government and question its intent as even as the Education Minister has clearly stated that there were no hurdles. "Our demands as on now have been accepted by the government, and I do not think it is possible to revert it back, anyway the parents will not allow even the going slow on the issue," Mr Lopes said not refusing to be drawn into the controversy or accuse the government of going slow. He, however said that they "appreciate the efforts put in by Mr Brar (Central Congress leader who is in charge of Goa state) to fulfill the desires of the parents." On Saturday, the Education Minister, Mr Atanasio ‘Babush’ Monserrate had reiterated that the circular would be brought into force this year itself and "schools will be allowed to open English medium divisions this year if parents want…, " and refuted reports that appeared in various sections of the media that the circular has been referred to the cabinet for correction as "...as there is nothing wrong with the circular." Also reacting to the Leader of Opposition Mr Manohar Parrikar allegation that the circular was not vetted by the law department or the finance department, Mr Monserrate had said that the decision could not have been taken by the cabinet if the legality of this had not been looked into before its approval by the cabinet. The four-member committee appointed to advise on the smooth implementation of the MoI decision is headed by the education secretary and has director of education and director of higher education as its members. Mr Monserrate also had said that anyone who doubted the legality of the circular, despite attempts by the state for its smooth implementation, was free to approach the courts for justice. Sources among the parent community were more forthcoming saying that they were willing to come out on the streets in case the government or any other "interest" tried to sabotage what had been promised and intensify the agitation. They also said that they were in touch with the Congress high command and had briefed them about the various positions taken and the various comments made by various players in the grants to medium of instruction issue. On the flip side, the PWD Minister on Saturday had threatened to quit the cabinet and the Congress party as well, if the government revoked its decision to give grants to primary schools seeking to switch to the English medium of instruction, warning the Digambar Kamat-led government of severe consequences if it reviewed or revoked its cabinet decision. Mr Alemao also had criticized the four-member monitoring committee saying that they were not fit to sit in that committee if they could not implement the cabinet decision in this academic year and wanted them to "resign from the committee if they cannot do their job and instead competent persons be appointed to the monitoring committee." http://www.navhindtimes.in/goa-news/force-refutes-allegations-pressure-parents ~Avelino
