Team Herald
PANJIM: Improving the quality of primary education and employment generation are the two biggest challenges the State is facing today, Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar said in his Independence Day speech on Tuesday.
Parrikar led the people of the State in celebrating the 71st Independence Day by unfurling the national flag and inspecting the guard of honour at the main function at the Old Secretariat in Panjim.
In his address, the Chief Minister said that the biggest concern in the Country as well Goa, which has remained unsolved even after 70 years of Independence, is the quality of primary education. “As we celebrate the 71st anniversary of our Independence Day, I feel saddened to say that in this country more than 50 percent students are not able to do proper division and multiplication even at standard V,” he said.
“Under such situation, if we want the country to progress, to set a direction to this democracy, then improvement in the quality of primary education is something we need to focus upon. Goa government, hence, has decided to lay emphasis to improve the quality of education in the coming years,” Parrikar said during the event, which was attended by several school students.
Parrikar, who is also Minister for Education, said the government alone cannot bring the change and appealed to all Goans, to support the government in providing quality education to students.
Another issue Goa and the country is facing is unemployment, the Chief Minister stated. “The country has 136 crore population, 65 percent population below the age group of 35 years and it is our biggest strength as well as biggest question posed to us,” he said.
Raising serious concerns, the Chief Minister said that with improvement of technology, introduction of mechanised farming and even robotic technology, generation of employment is becoming a major problem. “For a State like Goa employment will always be an issue, precisely because all Goans want white-collar jobs. No one wants to do physical work,” he said adding that the people have slowly forgotten the concept of ‘dignity of labour’.
Earlier, the chief minister appealed to the people to join hands with the government to make the State plastic free place by 2020. “Today let’s resolve to make Goa a plastic free state. State government has already imposed ban on the bags below 50 micron. The implementation of the ban would be done soon. If we all decide that we will not use plastic or will not use the plastic bags below 50 micron than we can work towards a plastic Free State as that will support government’s efforts,” he said.
Parrikar rued that there are many people who still have a habit of bundling their garbage in plastic bags and throwing it at the roadside, this habit needs to be corrected.
In the beginning of the address, Parrikar remembered the martyrs who sacrificed to get India Independent from the British rule in 1947.
The Chief Minister presented the President’s Police Medal for distinguished services to SP Umesh Gaonkar, President’s Police medal for meritorious services to SP Bosco George, SP Vishram U Borkar, DySP Mahesh Gaonkar, DySP Sunita Sawant, and retired DySP Terezinha T D’Souza.
The function was attended by Speaker Dr Pramod Sawant, Ministers Rohan Khaunte, Pandurang Madkaikar, Jayesh Salgaoncar, Leader of the Opposition Chandrakant Kavlekar, MLA Alina Saldanha and others.
