SO YOU THOUGHT YOUR CHILD WOULD BE TAUGHT IN ENGLISH IN 2011? By Gerard D Souza (Courtesy Herald)

PANJIM: The battle for English may have been won but the battle prize will take over a year to be delivered.  According to sources in the education department and the government it will be a miracle if the first class in the English medium is held in any school in Goa in the calendar year 2011 or even the academic year ending in March 2012.

Here’s why

1) The decision to now allow parents to fill the forms for the consent in the language of their choice has only increased the work that the staff has to do. Director Celsa Pinto announced that parents can choose the medium of instruction for their children and say so in their own language. The department now has to translate it’s Performa on which the parents have to mention their choice in both Konkani and Marathi.

2) Parents who wish to convey their medium of choice in either Konkani or Marathi have about a week to do so. But the tough part starts thereafter. rents who have already sent their forms in English and now wish to send again in the regional language will have two forms submitted. The onus is now on the department and its staff to ensure that the same form one in English and the other in Konkani/ Marathi of the same parent is not counted twice.

3) What if in a particular school there are just one or two parents want their children to study in the Regional language. What is the school going to do? Are they going to throw them out of the school? Are they going to have a separate division just for those one or two children?

4) The department will also have to separately conduct inspections for schools that are due to receive grants now. Further if any aided school needs to open extra divisions based on the parents’ choice the education department will again have to conduct inspections to see if they have the necessary infrastructure in place.

5) Questions are also being raised about the availability of textbooks in English with sources saying that even if the order was given to print text books, it would take at least another two months to be available. The directorate of education supplies free textbooks to children under the Sarva Siksha Abhiyan scheme.

Commenting on the situation, sources in the education department said that all these issues will be raised before the government and that the new medium of instruction will not be implemented until all hurdles are cleared.