The Medium of Instruction (MoI) committee has finally woken up from its slumber. If its chairman Bhaskar Nayak is to be believed this time, a report is expected to see the light of the day by December-end. It is obvious that the Medium of Instruction report was just a medium to buy time so that the vexed issue could have a silent burial. Otherwise how does one explain the timeline of this report? The 17-member MoI panel was formed in July 15, 2016 and was given four months to submit its report, advising the government on grants to English medium schools.
The way Nayak and his team has gone about this entire process shows complete slothfulness and lethargy, so much so that it took the panel a painful two years and five months, and we are still counting. To be fair, this is a report which the government had no interest in. If so, can such a delay be justified? If the chairman of the committee takes the blame on himself citing personal reasons, why did the government not seek accountability? If this was a priority, just like the several other projects where the government is imposing its will on the people with imperious authority, why did it not step in here instead of merely giving half-a-dozen extensions?
The lassitude shown by the government is as clear as daylight. Understandably, it can’t afford to open a can of worms at this stage, especially at a time when there is so much of uncertainty with the administration going downhill. Taking a stand on the MoI could be suicidal because it can only invite the wrath of a huge section of people that are with the government.
The entire exercise is a sham because while everyone forgot about the report, including its chairman and the ‘happy-to-forget’ government, it took a reaction to a news report by Bharatiya Bhasha Suraksha Manch, to shake Nayak out of his indolence. It remains to be seen if the report gives an opinion on MoI or skirts the issue altogether, only providing suggestions on infrastructure and development of schools.
The MoI report, even if it meets the latest deadline of December, is in all probability headed nowhere since the Chief Minister who also holds the Education portfolio is battling serious health issues. Nobody expects the CM to invite more trouble by announcing radical changes to the MoI tangle.
Nayak’s December date coincides with some key political developments scheduled to unfold in that month. BJP is anxiously awaiting election results of the five states that have gone to poll, to make its move in Goa. It has promised disgruntled allies that all contentious issues will be settled post December 11. Political pundits are betting on a sudden dissolution of the House depending on the poll outcomes in other states.
