The first casualty of the bans on mining operations in the State is not those dependent on mining for their livelihood or the business firms involved in mining, but the field of education. With the prospects of a recovery of the mining industry in the State currently low, there have been fewer students opting for the three year diploma in mining engineering that is offered at the Government Polytechnic at Bicholim. The course has an intake capacity of 40 students, but has been getting about ten students a year and the course is now set to be discontinued from the coming academic year 2018-19.
According to the officials at the polytechnic, the students that enrolled for the diploma in mining engineering course, did so hoping to get a job with a mining firm after completing their course, but after the ban on mining operations in 2012 there was a drop in enrolments, and the curse was even closed temporarily. It was revived when mining operations were given the green signal, but some of the students who did enroll for the course, gave up midway and opted for other courses, forcing the institute to rethink on the course and submit as status report to the Directorate of Technical Education for a decision. While the course may be stopped, students already enrolled will be able to complete the course.
The situation is almost comparable to the one at the Goa Engineering College, Farmagudi, that offers a degree in mining engineering course, that is also seeing a drop in the number of students. While the degree course has 30 seats, the number of students opting for it averages around 20 to 25 a year. There may not be any move yet to close down this course, but with a second ban on mining already effective, the future of this course too remains in question.
Student unions in the State have entered into the politics of this, with those aligned to the Congress pointing out that in the future mining engineers are going to face unemployment, and could remain unemployed for a long time, while the union aligned to the BJP has said there is no fear of unemployment.
According to the NSUI, the student wing of the Congress party, in the past four years only 10 per cent of the mining engineers have got employment in their field of specialisation, and the entire batch of 2017 is unemployed. They also pointed out that there are 240 students who are still enrolled in the course and who are today ‘clueless’ of their future prospects. The BJP’s students’ wing claims that 90 percent of students who have completed the course have been recruited as mining engineers.
It is ironic that in the State where the education system has often come under criticism for not being aligned to the job sector, diploma and degree courses that are specifically meant for what was once Goa’s largest employer have now no takers.
There is a demand now, not only for employment to the ‘mining affected’ but also alternative employment opportunities to the youth passing out with diplomas and degrees in mining engineering, and also to the scores that took up employment in mining companies and ancillary industries. With the closure of mining operations, not only has the government’s promise of creating jobs taken a hit, but also the number of young graduate jobless could lead to the unemployment graph taking a steeper slope upwards.
Employment for new graduates and post graduates needs immediate attention, or else Goa could see a brain drain in the coming months, as youngsters leave the State in search of jobs elsewhere. Very interestingly, the BJP students’ cell has said that those who do not get jobs in Goa have the opportunity to pursue further studies as well as job opportunities in other mining rich states and countries. That’s almost akin to promoting a brain drain in the State.
