Sunday, June 26, 2011

The medium of instruction issue

Have we just let the politicians distract us from the more important things and taken us for a ride? I am referring to the MOI issue that seems to have taken everyone's attention lately.

Not for a minute do I want to trivialize the importance of the subject itself. However, the way the topic has manifested itself and the direction it has taken are something we need to closely introspect.

Coming back to the topic itself, I am a big supporter of the MOI being in the local language until middle school with English as a subject. One of the key element of local identify is our language which is unfortunately losing out. The number of Goans who use Konkani as a language of communication is dwindling at a rapid pace. What recourse do we have before we lose our language itself?

I am aware of the argument that English is an extremely important language and very important in the workplace. But should this argument impact the current risk we face of losing our identity? I believe the current generation is exposed to English in many forms and hence masters the language through many other means.

Are we forsaking our identify and future by promoting English as a MOI?