Goa's two MLAs argue for English

The congress legislature party meeting was a divided house when it came to implementing English as a medium of instruction for government aided primary schools when they met on Thursday and only two MLAs in the current congress dispensation in Goa, were strongly advocating the need to start government primary schools in English as a solution to the crisis type situation faced by the schools.

The demand was made by Curtorim MLA Mr Aleixo Reginaldo Lourenco and Calangute MLA Agnelo Fernandes who both demanded that Goan parents be given a freedom of choice to choose between English and Konkani as a medium of instruction to their children in government aided primary schools in Goa. However  dissenting voices came from Cortalim MLA Mauvin Godinho and Churchill Alemao who were reportedly not in favour and objected saying that people in Goa had fought to make konkani the official language of the state.

It is common knowledge in Goa that many people including legislators are sending their own children to private schools in distant places with English as a medium of instruction which has brought down the enrolments in most government schools and the standard of the surviving  government schools has also declined

The two congress MLAs Mr Agnelo Fernandes and Mr Aleixo Reginaldo Lourenco are expected to move a private members bill in the forthcoming session of the assembly to facilitate English as a medium of instruction