Bosco D’souza of Libra Computers said many of his students would register when an advertisement appeared in the paper for a job in the public sector. If the requirement for selection mentioned a computer qualification then there would be students signing up for the three month short term courses. With approximately 1000 students studying in the three centres, the training institute is one of the oldest that is still surviving in the state. The industry he said was not regulated by any government body.
He said “In 2001 there were around 20 computers institutes set up by people who were essentially fly by night operators. There were complaints of exorbitant fees being charged and the state government decided to step in and evaluate these institutes. The University of Goa evaluated us and passed us for a year in 2001-2002 after that nothing happened.” None of the institutes in the state or in the rest of the country ware recognized by the government, he said. There are, he said, certain institutes who claimed they were government recognized.
Elaborating further on the quality of Goan students he felt that there was a general absence of fire in the belly. There were the odd exceptions who would ask questions and were aware of what their goals were they were just that exceptions. The curriculum he said was created taking into consideration the evolving nature of corporate life. Companies in the state were recruiting from the institute citing names like Sesa Goa, Browntape, Diebold and several other startups in the state. Despite all the negative talk he expressed his confidence saying that the new generation was more clued in though there was some way to go before they could catch up with the rest of the country.
