This is not the script we ought to be reading. A pre-primary school run by the Holy Family of Nazareth Educational Society is struggling to get permission to start Std I in Konkani in Mastimoll, Canacona. An application was made in August after 125 parents send a
written request to the management to start a primary school so that their wards continue education without having to switch to other schools. A second request is sent in November to the education department and in December the Canacona ADEI
inspects the school. In the same month all relevant documents are submitted. With no intimation from the department on the fate of the application, parents approach local MLA Ramesh Tawadkar who says he would seek an appointment with Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar. Consequently, the fate of students
now hangs in a balance. It’s a disheartening script.
The manner in which the Society that runs the school is
being made to run from pillar to post to get permission, that
too for a primary school in the official
language, speaks volumes of
the government’s commitment to
Konkani. There appears to be a gap
between the promises made by the
government and actual implementation
of the same on the ground. In
his recent Budget, Parsekar laid out
an elaborate plan for supporting
education in regional languages -- a
special grant of Rs 400 per student for primary schools imparting
education in Konkani and Marathi. The government also
decided to give special grants to non-aided primary schools
if they shift to regional languages. These two announcements
leave no room for doubt that the government would prefer to
pursue a policy of incentives without imposing its view on
schools. In the light of these announcements how does one
explain the lethargy shown by the education department in
the case of the Holy Family of Nazareth Education Society? Is
this a deliberate attempt to delay a decision to the point where
it becomes irrelevant?
It might be recalled that the Society had made a similar application
last year, but was told that it had come too late. This
time the Society’s application was made well in advance, but
the result appears to be the same. With the academic year
coming to an end parents are eager to know the status of the
school’s application because in the event permission is denied,
which would be a sad event and a complete repudiation
of the State’s policy of supporting primary schools in Konkani,
they would have to seek admission elsewhere.
In the normal course one would have expected the government
and the department to embrace this new school with
open arms, especially at a time when English medium primary
schools are marching ahead like a colossus. Unfortunately,
this has not happened. Any decision “ positive or negative,
needs to be conveyed to the school as early as possible because
a year would be lost if the decision is delayed. More importantly,
if the government has taken a decision not to grant
permission, which would be a sad thing for the State, then this
decision needs to be made public and followed by an explanation
as to why permission was denied when 125 parents had
expressed their intent to give their children an education in
the mother tongue. Something is clearly wrong in the department
and it needs to cleared up as soon as possible.
