The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led governments in Goa have been aiming to make the State an education hub and inviting institutes of eminence, publicly funded as well as private, to set up their campuses in Goa. As a result, during the last decade the Centre has been kind enough to set up campuses of prestigious institutes in Goa and private schools too have taken a keen interest in setting up a base in the State.
The National Institute of Technology (NIT), after a long struggle, was able to have its permanent campus in Cuncolim, whereas, the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) is yet to have its own campus and functions from the campus of the Goa College of Engineering at Farmagudi, Ponda. The India International University of Law Education and Research (IIULER) has been given a temporary space at the Kala Bhavan at Sancoale and recently the Chief Minister invited Symbiosis to set up its campus in the State.
While these institutions add to the upgradation of educational standards in the State, the government seems to have lost focus. From failing to maintain the physical infrastructure of schools, the issue of recruitment of teachers, closing down of government primary schools (GPS), to the mid-day meal chaos, the education department is suffering.
Around a dozen GPS buildings in Canacona are on the verge of collapse. Recently, in the Government High School (main), Vasco, portions of the ceiling collapsed, luckily nobody was injured in the incident. Such incidents are becoming a norm over the years in government-run schools due to lack of maintenance.
With regards to student enrolment, annual statistics released by Goa’s Directorate of Education (the last report was released in December 2019) reveal that in 2010 the government-run schools catered to almost 35 per cent of the total enrolled students in the State, the percentage dropped to less than 21 per cent in 2019.
As a result, nearly 30 per cent of GPS have been shut down over the last decade in the State. From over 1,000 government primary schools, the number of schools functioning during the academic year 2022-23 had dropped to 718, and the number has further slid down in the current year. However, the number of government-aided primary schools increased from 179 in 2010 to 282 in 2019 and more have been granted permissions during the last four years.
In June last year, the National Achievement Survey (NAS), 2021, revealed the poor performance of Goan school students compared to the national averages. Across all grades, Goan students performed below the national average in Mathematics, and their performances in other subjects too were not satisfactory.
Currently, the government needs to appoint 142 teachers at the primary level and more than 200 teachers at the secondary level, as pointed out by the Centre during the annual review of the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) scheme earlier this year. The government of the day believes in recruiting its staff on a contractual basis, and with a large number of teachers being recruited on an annual contract, their remuneration is sometimes one-third the pay scale of full-time teachers.
Not to forget the chaos surrounding the delay in payment to the self-help groups (SHGs), which has led to a sustained confrontation between the government and the SHGs who have threatened to discontinue the mid-day meal operations.
While setting up institutions with international repute, it’s a leap into transforming the educational scenario, however, the issues concerning the foundational education of Goan children need primary attention. The statistics clearly indicate that despite being in power from 2012 onwards in the State, the BJP-led subsequent governments have failed to focus on the education sector.
While the Goa government is like the lighthouse that provides light to ships and directs them to its shores, let it not be that “darkness reigns at the foot of the lighthouse”.
