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English Medium Primary Education for Better Future
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. Indias 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 Konkani medium to avail grants.
The catastrophic effects, of the switch over to Konkani 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 Konkani 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 Konkani 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 childs 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 Konkani 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 Konkani
medium? Is it for the love of Konkani? Surely not. Otherwise they should
have run Konkani medium schools already prior to 1990. The Church runs
Konkani 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
Konkani 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 Goas 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 childs
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 Konkani medium primary schools and are now in college.
Cypriano Lopes
