Of the 96,467 students enrolled at primary level (Std I-IV), 56,515 (59%) are studying in English medium and 31,058 (32%) are studying in Marathi medium.
Interestingly, only 6,409 (7%) students are studying in Konkani which is Goa’s official language.
However, 1,394 students have opted for Urdu medium, 833 Kannada, 252 Hindi and only six in Telugu medium, which comprises nearly two per cent of the total number of students.
Of the total students enrolled, 49,300 (51%) are in government-aided primary schools, 25,111 (26%) in unaided and 22,056 (23%) in government schools. There are no English medium schools run by the State Government.
“In the present scenario, most parents opt for English as the MoI at primary level. They, however, feel that their children can cope up better with higher education if they study in English at primary level because education from standard V onwards in Goa is in English medium,” said an educationist.
“Experts in education, however, are of the opinion that if a child studies in mother tongue, it is easier for the child to understand better as mother tongue is the first language that the child learns,” he said.
The educationist, however, pointed out that the main problem is the transition from primary education in regional language to Standard V in English medium.
“When a child is studying in regional language at primary level and suddenly shifting to English medium in Standard V, it sometimes becomes difficult for the child to cope up as all the subjects are in English. If this issue is addressed properly, parents would definitely opt for regional languages as MoI at primary level”, he said.
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MEDIUM OF INSTRUCTION NO OF STUDENTS
English 56,515
Marathi 31,058
Konkani 6,409
Urdu 1,394
Kannada 833
Hindi 252
Telugu 6
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TEACHING INSTITUTIONS NO OF STUDENTS
Government schools 22,056 (23%)
Govt-aided schools 49,300 (51%)
Unaided schools 25,111 (26%)
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CONFLICTING OPINIONS
Bharatiya Bhasha Suraksha Manch
* Primary education is the stage where we can imbibe cultural values in children, says Subhash Velingkar
* English education at primary level will disconnect them from our culture
* If this scenario continues, Goans will lose their Indian identity
* Parents feel English is the driving point in the future of their chidren, which is not the case
* We have to convince them with a scientific educational concept, which is not known by the parents
Forum for Rights of Childrens’ Education
* These statistics clearly show that parents prefer English at primary level
* Majority of the parents are inclined towards English
* This shows where the demand is, says Savio Lopes
