MARGAO
The Global Romi Lipi Abhiyan (GRLA) has fully supported the demands made by parents in Goa regarding the changes in school timings and other related issues made by the Education Department.
“GRLA expects much more from the Education Department than these cosmetic changes in the name of the National Educational Policy (NEP) through their circular. It’s time the Education Department looked at the entire NEP and framed rules and regulations only after discussing with the stakeholders, i.e., schools and parents,” GRLA president Kennedy Afonso stated.
He said the Education Department cannot dictate terms to the schools as the NEP gives complete autonomy to the school authorities to set the curriculum/syllabus, pedagogy, and assessment methods within the framework provided by the National Curriculum Framework (NCF).
“As per the NEP, the Education Department cannot dictate which language or subject a school will teach. The NEP gives the school authorities the flexibility to innovate and experiment. The school management must not fall prey to the dictates of the Education Department and must demand an immediate conference with all school stakeholders to discuss the new NEP and its implications.”
“The NEP also recommends education in the mother tongue/local dialect till the 5th standard,” he said.
The GRLA has demanded that under the NEP, the Education Department should focus on introducing Roman Script Konkani to be taught in schools as an optional subject along with Devanagari.
“The Diocesan School Authorities must also seize this opportunity if they are interested in introducing Roman Script Konkani into schools because the Education Department has no say over it,” he said.
He added: “The NEP promotes flexibility in education, allowing students to choose subjects and courses that interest them, thus encouraging students to explore multiple subjects and fields.”
