MARGAO
The Global Roman Lilip Abhiyan has welcomed the statement made by Union Minister of State for Education Sukanta Majumdhar in the Rajya Sabha stating that no language will be imposed on students under the NEP three-language policy.
GRLA President Kennedy Afonso said the Union Minister was compelled to make this statement after Tamil Nadu citizens opposed the government’s decision to forcefully impose Hindi on its students in the guise of the three-language formula.
“The NEP has given a three-language choice to all states of India. The three language options given for Goa are Konkani as the first language, English as the second, and Marathi as the third language,” he said, adding that Konkani as the first language is fine so long as the students get to learn it in a script of their choice, i.e., Devanagari or
Roman Script.
“This solution could easily resolve the script imbroglio and pave the way forward for Roman Script Konkani. Under the NEP, the onus to pick the three languages lies with the students and the state government. This is exactly what the Union Minister had to say in reply to a written question in the Rajya Sabha: the decision to pick the language will be decided by the state and by the students,” he said.
Given the major role Roman Script Konkani has played in protecting the language, he said it’s only right that students get to learn Konkani in a script of their choice. “Let the students decide,” he added.
Kennedy said the policy also gives schools the freedom to choose the curriculum of their choice within the framework prescribed in the NEP, and there is absolutely no reason for the government to stop any school that desires to teach Konkani in Roman Script.
