The realisation that Goa needs to look beyond mining and tourism has percolated into the system. Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant in his Budget speech last week did admit that Goa needs to diversfy from the traditional economy of mining and tourism for its future development. There can be no difference of opinion on this. The argument could well be which sector should Goa look at, one that will replace mining or tourism, or take forward from where these two have brought Goa economically. Goa cannot go for heavy industries, nor for any that are of a polluting nature. The realistic option is the service industry, but ironically, the Economic Survey tabled in the House last week shows that the composition of the tertiary sector decreased from 38.41% in 2014-15 to 34.94% in 2017-18. That can, however, be changed.
A glimmer of hope stems from the fact that the government has committed to creating an educational hub in the State and tabled and passed a bill that will allow private universities to set up in the State or have extensions of their campuses in Goa. This is but the first step towards what should be a long-term programme that the State has to set itself with an aim to become a leading educational hub in the country. The Goa Golden Jubilee Development Council in its Goa 2035 Vision statement had proposed that Goa be converted into a ‘prime centre for higher education and research in India’. Its vision was that the State should be built on its aspiration to become a leader in ‘innovation in education’ and ‘educationin innovation’.
The council in its document had stated that the contribution of the knowledge industry was 1 per cent of the GDSP of the State, and there was a huge opportunity to raise it to 10 per cent and more by 2035. In this regard, though the report was accepted by the government, there was no move to make it happen, but today, with the government focus turning to education, there is the possibility that the council’s objective’s in the field of education may still be met. The Council had suggested that the focus could be on information and communication technology, biotechnology, pharmacology, nanotechnology, public health, new media, maritime studies, green architecture, etc. The list is vast, will any of the private unversities that open in Goa, look at these.
But while private universities or educational institutions will come to Goa – there are proposals with the government already – an educational hub cannot spring into being by itself. It has to be promoted and nurtured by the government, where land is made available and so too facilities offered that would be required by the institutes. An educational hub can be successful only if the institutes that set up in Goa are centres of excellence in education and research, as only then will the attract students not just from the rest of India, but from across the world. The government will also have to be extremely selective to weed out any fly-by-night operators that may set their sights on Goa.
The idea of an educational hub is not entirely new. Two years ago, in January 2018, the then Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, pointing out that between 1,500 and 1,800 engineers are being readied every year in the State, had said that Goa is turning into an educational hub. In the field of engineering, Goa does have a number of colleges of repute. Yet, if Goa was already on the path of becoming an educational hub then, it is only now that it has taken some more resolute steps towards achieving the aim. For two years there was practically little done towards achieveing this vision. The government has to quickly make up for lost time, especially since it has already delayed the process by such a long period, but now that it has finally made up its mind that this is what Goa needs, it has to act.
The big question now is how does Goa attract quality educational institutions? It has not had a very positive track record where inviting industry is concerned. It lacks in marketing skills in this area. Besides, the long delay in the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) and the National Institute of Technology (NIT) getting land alloted for their campuses is not the best of selling point references for the State. These two centres of excellence came to Goa, not out of choice but as part of the larger plan of the Central government to have such institutions in every State.It was exected that they would get preferential treatment, but there was many a slip in their being established. What Goa, therfore, needs is to first identify where the land for such universities and institutes is available before it begins to promote the educational hub and process the applications it has received. Though the Bill makes it the responsibility of the unversity to find land, unless the government facilitates this, it may not happen.
With an eye on the future, the government should look at not just top institutions from India setting up in Goa, but even attempt to attract international colleges to the State. Goa certainly has the ambience for international colleges, all it needs is a push in the right direction. Currently it already has international students in certain colleges and even at the Goa University. Can this be conceived and then implemented? That will make Goa a truly international destination for education and not just tourism as it is today.
An educational hub can go beyond just the physical buildings of a university. In the era of digital learning, Goa should grab the advantage it has of a high literacy rate and English speaking and writing skills. It can create teaching material in the form of data, voice and video recording that via a dedicated network can reach beyond the borders of the State. The educational hub can be not just one that has students coming to the State to study and return, but also a virtual or digital learning centre operating out of Goa. It can be done, all it needs is some innovative thinking.
