Parrikar’s new ‘discovery’ over why Church-run Eng schools are given grants

GOANEWS DESK, PANAJI | 08 April 2016 18:32 IST

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar has now discovered yet another justification for continuing government grants to Church-run English primary schools.

After laying foundation stone for a bridge over Rua de Ourem creek in his former Panaji constituency, he spoke elaborately over the bridge his BJP government has built over Medium of Instruction controversy.

According to him, the BJP government continued the Congress policy of giving grants to the Church-run English schools because students would have been in trouble.

He feels these 29,000 students, studying in Church-run schools, would have gone to Marathi medium schools while it would have been difficult for the government to accommodate them.

Verbatim provided by goanews.com, this is what Parrikar said:

काही शाळांक आतां इंग्लीश मिडियम दिलां. तांची ग्रांट बंद केली आनी तीं 29 हजार भुरगीं मराठींत गेलीं जाल्यार तांकां खंय एकोमोडेट करपाचें? अशे एडमिनिस्ट्रेटिव्ह प्रॉब्लॅम खूब आसतात.

(Some schools are granted English medium. If we stop their grants and those 29,000 students go to Marathi medium schools, where shall we accommodate them?  There are many such administrative problems.)

Earlier, Parrikar was justifying his decision to continue grants to Church-run schools to protect hundreds of teachers of Archdiocesan Board of Education, who may not get proper salary if salary grants are withdrawn.

Now, he feels that Konkani or Marathi mediums have no good quality schools in Goa due to which his BJP government had to continue grants to Church-run schools.

“The real issue is of good schools and quality education. Because there are no good schools in Konkani or Marathi, people send their children to English medium schools”, said Parrikar.

  

He also advised politicians sitting on the dais, including Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar (also the education minister) to concentrate more on upgrading the quality of government primary schools.

Referring to the RSS cadres burning effigies of South Goa BJP MP Narendra Savoikar, Parrikar said Goa cannot get quality education by burning effigies but by working in the field of education and building good quality schools.

He also made a special mention of Hedgewar School, run by the people active in the Sangh Parivar, as a good school imparting quality education.

Without naming the RSS (which he also belongs to) or the Bharatiya Bhasha Suraksha Manch, Parrikar said they have taken up a right issue, but the path is wrong.

He once again insisted that parents would start sending their children to Konkani or Marathi schools only when the schools would impart quality education.

BLAMES ‘HERALD’ FOR RSS-BJP WAR

Without naming ‘Herald’ publication, Parrikar also said this publication is deliberately creating rift between the BJP and the RSS in the state.

“There is a publication which  runs English newspaper supporting primary education in English medium and Marathi newspaper supporting primary education in Konkani or Marathi medium. The owner is the same’, he said.

He also alleged that this publication initially started the controversy in Goa over Medium of Instruction issue.

“First they created the MoI controversy by supporting English medium and now its Marathi publication opposes that stand and creating confusion. In the bargain, they go on adding fuel to the fire”, said Parrikar. 


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konkani and marathi okay but English be must when they go for interview how they will give interview konkani or marathi.

- Agostinho Fernandes, Margao | 09 th April 2016 00:32

 

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