Panaji, May 27 (IANS) A group of protestors blocked the national highway in Goa to protest the state government's decision to give grants to schools where English is the medium of instruction, saying it will be a death knell for regional languages.

 
 The agitators, who are part of the Bharatiya Bhasha Suraksha Manch (BBSM), blocked the national highway at Porvorim, 30 km from here.
 
 “If the Congress-led coalition government does not roll back its decision than we will be forced to have a mass agitation,” said Shashikala Kakodkar, former chief minister and convenor of BBSM, threatening an all-Goa bandh June 6.
 
 The debate in Goa comes against the backdrop of the central Right to Education (RTE) Act, which envisions the child’s mother tongue - in Goa’s case largely Konkani or Marathi -- as the medium of instruction. The act is scheduled to be ratified in the state legislative assembly soon.
 
 Until Wednesday, the Goa government offered aid and grants only to schools in which Konkani or Marathi is used to teach. A cabinet decision May 25, allowed English schools to avail government grants.