Goa priest opposes English as medium in primary schools

(May 28, 2012) A priest in India’s Goa state is protesting Church-backed bodies supporting English as the medium of instruction in primary classes. Such a move will result in "anglicization" of the Church, warns Fr Mousinho Ataide, a professor of the archdiocesan seminary. Services in most churches in Goa are now conducted in Konkani language, but according to Fr. Ataide, primary education in English would eventually end church services in Konkani, as the new generation of Catholics become unfamiliar with the local language. The 61-year old priest lamented that no one will learn Konkani if English education is funded by the state government. Church bodies such as the Diocesan Society of Education and Archdiocesan Board of Education support replacing Konkani with English as the medium of instruction for elementary education. The two bodies together manage some 140 schools in the state that support English and pressure the new government led by Manohar Parrikar of the Bharatiya Janata Party. The chief minister has said he would announce his government stand on the issue in the next few days. Fr. Ataide warns cultural identity of Goa would vanish if English were promoted over Konkani.