PONDA: After the State government suspended admissions to the degree programme in Mining Engineering at Goa Engineering College (GEC), Farmagudi, for the academic year 2019-20, the GEC now is hoping to restart Mining Engineering degree programme from the academic year 2021-22.
The Mining Engineering Course was suspended following poor response from the students after mining industry closure in the State. However, with the changing scenario and lot of job opportunities, the GEC is contemplating to restart the degree programme.
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It may be recalled that the Mining Engineering education was started at GEC with the initiative of one mining company which had almost invested Rs 22 crore with full-fledged laboratories and equipment in 2011 and was inaugurated by former Chief Minister then Manohar Parrikar and former PWD Minister and Marcaim MLA Sudin Dhavalikar.
It is learnt that this is the only college Western India region providing Mining Engineering education.
According to the sources, after pursuing Mining Engineering degree programme there are lot of job opportunities in the government civil service as well as in the other States, especially after 2019, wherein the Central government circular made it mandatory for every kind of mining extraction whether it is ore, sand, gravel, laterite stone etc, mining engineers should be compulsorily engaged by the contractors.
Further, with formation of mining corporation in the State for restart of mining, there would be need for mining engineers. Besides Goans, the students from outside the State are showing interest to join mining engineering.
However, now with some mining companies showing willingness to sponsor and bear the fees of economically backwards students for pursuing mining engineering education and with the cooperation of government, the GEC is trying to restart the Mining Engineering Course.
Marcaim MLA said that in next two days he will be writing a letter to Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and Director of Technical Education for restarting the suspended Mining Engineering Course at GEC.
