Twist to MoI tangle (Herald)

Twist to MoI tangle August 1, 2013 Govt to pay teachers only in Konkani, Marathi pre-primary schools TEAM HERALD PANJIM: The government has decided to pay for the salaries of teachers teaching in Konkani or Marathi pre-primary schools, an Education Department circular says, adding another twist to the vexed Medium of Instruction issue that holds the State in its throes. It has to be noted that there are a large number of pre-primary schools with English as the medium of instruction that would not be eligible for funds and most of these are managed by the Archdiocese of Goa. The circular, which Herald accessed, says that as these pre-primary schools are not funded by the State, their teachers ~ mostly contractual ~ “get meager remuneration as these schools do not enjoy the patronage of the government.” Making a case of the need to strengthen pre-primary education so that good teachers are attracted to “this sector” the circular say that “the government has decided to provide need-based grants to registered pre-primary schools having Konkani/Marathi as medium of instruction so as to help private managements to enhance the remuneration of these contractual teachers.” “Yes we have issued the circular,” Education Director Anil Powar told Herald, adding that this was in line with the government’s commitment in the Budget speech to “take care of primary schools.” It has to be noted that the Archdiocese Board of Education has among the largest number of schools in this sector and is one of the largest stakeholders in education. They have also been running pre-primary schools through various bodies and are registered with the Education Department. However, if the medium of inst ruction had then made church-run schools jittery, this circular will directly discriminate against these schools as they are mostly run in English and the grants will be given to private schools that run their schools in Konkani or Marathi. The schools have been asked to submit details such as name, address, name of management, medium of instruction, details of teachers working; and infrastructure available. The information has to be submitted by early next month. The chief minister Wednesday refused to comment on MoI issue when asked about it after the Cabinet briefing, but he had recently announced the formation of an Education Advisory Council to study and resolve the issue in primary schools across the State. The decision is supposed to come within three months, according to the assurance given by Parrikar. The council, formed under Section 34 of the RTE, is supposed to have educationists in its ranks besides other experts and officials. This issue has been on the boil for the past two years with the then Congress-led government giving grants to 137 English medium schools. Status quo was maintained by the BJP-led Government which came to power in March 2012. In April 2011, the government had decided to continue with Konkani and Marathi as Medium of Instruction for elementary education in the State, refusing the plea by parents to also include English as MoI. 1Govt makes case for need to strengthen pre-primary education so that good teachers are attracted to ‘this sector’ 2A large number of pre-primary schools managed by the Archdiocese of Goa with English as the medium of instruction would not be eligible for funds 3Circular says need-based grants to registered pre-primary schools having Konkani/Marathi as MoI to help managements enhance remuneration of contractual teachers http://www.heraldgoa.in/News/Main%20Page%20News/Twist-to-MoI-tangle/77646.html