Sawant says rights of all schools including minority institutions will continue to remain unchanged
PANAJI
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Wednesday said the new National Education Policy (NEP) will be implemented at the pre-primary level only from the coming 2021-22 academic year and dispelled apprehension that rights of school managements including minority institutions will be usurped by the Education Department.
Sawant said the administrative powers of schools managed by Diocesan Society of Education, other minority schools and government aided institutions will not be curtailed on implementation of the NEP in the next academic year.
Sawant was speaking during Question Hour when he also said that the government will not bull-doze the NEP in Goa but deliberations will be held and consent of educational institutions will be taken.
The chief minister, who also holds the education portfolio also told the House that two committees, each headed by Shiroda MLA Subhash Shirodkar and former chief minister Laxmikant Parsekar are working on the issues related to the NEP implementation.
Suggestions recommended by these two committees will be incorporated, he added.
"The Subhash Shirodkar-headed committee has already produced a provisional report and the higher education committee has given a basic report. They will be submitted a full fledged report soon," Sawant said.
Earlier, Curtorim MLA Aleixo Reginald Lourenco, who raised the question demanded that Sawant give an assurance in the House that privileges under the Constitution conferred on minority institutions will be maintained and their interests protected when the NEP is implemented.
Lourenco said, there was apprehension among managements of minority schools that their powers will be curtailed with the NEP introduced.
Fatorda MLA, Vijai Sardesai, joined in to point out that the NEP requires schools to be clubbed together in geographical "clusters" and added that there is apprehension among managements of minority schools, including the Diocesan Society of Education over this proviso.
"They are worried over how these clusters will be formed, which other schools they will be clubbed with and what impact it will have," Sardesai said.
Porvorim MLA Rohan Khaunte raised the question of whether the government has done an assessment of the impact the NEP will have on the current education system, while Madkaim MLA Sudin Dhavlikar urged the government to be cautious over the section of the NEP which deals with technical education.
Thrust in education on 'employability'
PANAJI: Chief Minister Pramod Sawant who earmarked Rs 3,038 crores for education spelt out some measures to be introduced to raise the 'employability' quotient of the human resource that passes through the system, including aptitude-linked stream and career counselling.
Sawant said henceforth all class X and XII students in the State will be provided counselling bearing their 'aptitude' in mind as to which stream or career they should pursue.
"Stream and career counselling will be provided to all Std X and XII students free of cost," Sawant said in his budget speech.
The chief minister who also holds the education portfolio said that coding and robotics will be introduced at school level itself to inculcate mathematical and logical aptitude among school students.
A “CM-Coding and Robotics” scheme will be formulated which has a provision of Rs 25 crore this financial year, he added.
With online teaching now being the new normal in education due to the pandemic, Sawant said his government conducted online capacity building training programmes to equip teachers in handling video conferencing tools.
Further, to encourage digital education and teaching concepts, he said Computer labs will be set up in government schools.
Sawant also said that a training programme is being formulated where coaching will be provided for IIT-JEE, NEET and other such competitive exams.
For higher education, Sawant said new college buildings will be buitl for the Architecture and Pharmacy colleges besides an annexe edifice for the Goa College of Fine Arts.
The government he said, has introduced masters programmes in architecture and fine arts from the current academic year to facilitate students who otherwise would have to relocate outside the State to pursue their post-graduate studies.
