M’lore: Make Konkani part of school curriculum

The Hindu

Mangalore, 07 April 2011: K. Narayana Kharvy, president of the Karnataka Konkani Sahitya Academy, said on Wednesday that Konkani should be made part of the timetable of schoolchildren. “At present, one cannot see Konkani anywhere in the students’ timetable, even if you read it with a magnifying glass,” he added.

 

 

He was speaking at a meeting on “Konkani in schools: celebration and analysis” organised by the Karnataka Konkani Sahitya Academy, Konkani Prachar Sanchalan and Mandd Sobhann. A large number of teachers attended it.

 

Mr. Kharvy urged schools to provide at least one period to the language. Konkani was an optional subject in schools but it should be made compulsory, he said. In the past two years, nothing had been done about teaching Konkani in schools. He had met the Chief Minister, the Education Minister over the issue. The Deputy Director of Public Instruction (DDPI) had no problem with the language being taught in schools. “The reason is not the government, it is us,” he said and suggested that the community had to pressure the Government in this regard.

 

Roy Castelino, president of Konkani Prachar Sanchalan, said that Konkani-speaking people should speak the language. When census enumerators asked them to identify their mother-tongue, they mentioned Konkani but they would not speak the language. Many people whose mother-tongue was Konkani had forgotten the language, he said.

 

“We should not forget our mother-tongue. It is our identity,” he said. It was a national language (and therefore part of the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution), he said.

 

Annie Crasta received the best Konkani teacher award.