the goan I network
PANAJI
Over 30 months after it was constituted, the Medium of Instruction (MoI) Advisory Committee headed by former Director of Higher Education Dr Bhaskar Naik is expected to meet one last time on January 21 before submitting its report to the State government.
Naik told The Goan the report is ready but it will be examined by the whole committee at the meeting on January 21 before it is formally presented to the government.
The committee was constituted by the State government in July 2016 amid a raging controversy over the demand for restricting grants-in-aid only to those primary schools which impart education in the local Konkani or Marathi medium.
The controversy spilled on to the streets with thousands of parents holding public protests and morchas to espouse either of the causes -- grants to primary schools including English medium and restriction of grants only to schools with mother tongue as medium.
The committee got four extensions in November 2016 and in March, July and October of 2017. It held meetings in all talukas wherein members interacted and held consultations with students, teachers and other stakeholders.
Besides Naik, the committee comprised of Jayant Mulgaonkar, Kanta Patnekar, J R Rebello, Madhav Kamat, Dr Celsa Pinto, Dr Alan Abreu, Dutta Naik, Celso Dias, Anil Samant, Madhav Borkar, Uday Ballikar, Dilip Betkikar, Dr Bushan Bhave, Edward D’Lima, Prakash Paryenkar and Nagaraj Honnekeri.
