TEAM HERALD

teamherald@herald-goa.com

MARGAO: As expected, the sensitive Medium of Instruction (MoI) issue has finally taken centre stage in the ongoing poll battle in minority-dominated Salcete with just 9 days to go for the polls.

BJP’s stand that it would provide grants only to primary schools in regional languages may have come as welcome news for Congress stalwarts facing torrid time around Salcete’s countryside. Congress leaders are expected to exploit BJP’s stand to its advantage, and turn the tide against its opponents, in its bid to regain its hold over the taluka – where a total of eight Assembly seats are at stake.

But, the Congress has a task cut out to regain people’s confidence on MoI with any and every political player in Salcete swearing by English or promising to leave the choice of medium of education to the parents.

Even the two BJP backed candidates in Navelim and Curtorim – Avertano Furtado and Domnic Gaonkar respectively – may come under scanner over the MoI stand of the supporting party, but they too swear by English as the medium of instruction at the primary level.

That’s not all. The Goa Vikas Party has come out openly in support of English as the medium of instruction. The party manifesto reads: “We will give the right of choosing the medium of instruction at the primary education level to the respective parents. Grants will be given to English, Konkani, Marathi and other regional languages that get grants at present”.

GVP’s alliance partner, United Goans Democratic Party is yet to declare its stand on MoI given the inherent differences on the issue amongst party leaders, and the party may try to wriggle out of the situation since the matter is sub-judice.

Incidentally, the All India Trinamool Congress appears isn’t going to leave the Congress off the hook on MoI. This became apparent when TMC Goa unit Chief Dr Wilfred de Souza, who descended at Benaulim on Wednesday, sought to know from PWD Minister Churchill Alemao what went wrong with the Cabinet decision on MoI. “Stop fooling the people. On one hand, you claim that you took the Cabinet decision which has been stayed by the court. Explain to the people why the Cabinet decision is stayed in the court. Explain to the people why the 104 aided schools could not get government grants till date”, he demanded.