The Forum for Rights of Children to Education on Thursday reiterated their demand asking the government to translate the Cabinet decision (Medium of Instruction ) of July 10, 2014 into an Act without any dilution.
At a meet held at Lohia Maidan, Secretary of FORCE, Savio Lopes appealed to parents to come out in support. He vowed to carry on this fight till their demands were met. “You have chosen us to lead,” Lopes told a massive gathering.
Lopes came down heavily on BBSM leaders -- Arvind Bhatikar and Uday Bhembre -- for failing to take up the challenge of debating the MoI issue live at the meeting.
He quoted a famous personality to state that those who deny freedom for others do not deserve it for themselves. Lopes said more than 130 schools with English as the medium of instruction at the primary level have a strength of 28,000 to 30,000 students.
He claimed that the UNESCO report often quoted by protagonists of mother tongue are not aware that UNESCO has not undertaken any such study in Goa.
Stating that India is a multi-lingual country and English is the cementing force of all languages, Lopes said, “in India, Hindi is the national language while English is the language of administration”.
Lopes said while we cannot forget our mother tongue which is our identity, the students also have to progress in life. This, he said, can happen with the knowledge and fluency in English.
He also slammed critics and informed the audience that he does not possess a diploma in food and technology and has not worked on cruise liners.
Earlier, FORCE Convenor, Lotlikar decried efforts of opponents to engineer a communal divide among Goans, coupled with the efforts in not allowing the downtrodden to rise in society.
Stating that English was the need of the hour, Pallavi Naik of Sankhali said English was essential for written communication. She called on the government to pass the Bill as per the assurance given earlier.
Cynthia D'Costa e Fernandes said the time has come for Goans to rise while the Bahujan Samaj, which has been suppressed since Liberation, must now rise in favour of this demand.
She also reminded the government of its promise and demanded the same be fulfilled. “We hope the government places the Bill in the forthcoming Session of the Assembly as per the Cabinet decision and passes it", she remarked.
