Team Herald

PANJIM: As the Manohar Parrikar Vidhyan Mahotsav commenced on Thursday, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said that Goa government will soon have its own Educational Hub.

“Goa would soon have an international skilling centre as we intend to develop the State as an educational hub. Goa government is taking the education sector very seriously. Through the proposed international skilling centre, international level skills will be imparted,” he said during the inaugural ceremony of the two-day annual series that would be held across five constituencies, where a series of lectures will be delivered by researchers and scientists.

“This will offer exclusive opportunity to various stakeholders such as students, teachers, opinion makers, policy makers, researchers, scientists and the general public to interact with eminent scientists and learn about new developments.” 

Sawant added that literacy rate in Goa is very high and even though it’s a small State, the citizens have big ambitions. “With the presence of local engineering colleges, BITS Goa, NIT, IIT, GIM (B-college)and Hotel Management and Catering Institute,  we are moving in the right direction,” he added.

State Waste Management Minister Michael Lobo, Principal Scientific Advisor to Union government Dr K Vijay Raghavan and Chairman of Goa State Innovation Council Jose Manuel Noronha were also present at the inaugural ceremony held at NIO, Dona Paula. Two Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) were signed between the State govt and CSIR (Council of Scientific and Industrial Research). The MOUs aim at bringing eminent scientists including Nobel literates to Goa. 

Former CM (late) Manohar Parrikar, who had inaugurated the event last year, had announced that it could be an annual feature of the State Dept of Science and Technology. The agreement between CSIR and Goa govt specifically mentions, “The Goa overnment to live up to the commitment of Parrikar and to give a befitting tribute to this Science & technology visionary has decided to hold a science festival comprising of lectures, dialogues with students,teachers, research-ers, industries and general public in his memory under the banner “Manohar Parrikar Vidnyan Mahotsav” with the theme - Science for Society.”

The annual event being hosted in memory of Parrikar, will comprise of lectures, dialogues with students, teachers, researchers, industrialists and general public with the theme - Science for Society. A photo book on Parrikar was also released at the function.