PANJIM: Directorate of Education has stated that of the 40 applications received for setting up new primary schools, permissions could be granted to only those being located in areas that currently have no schools or where reaching them is a problem.
Speaking to Herald, Education Director Gajanan P Bhat said, “The department had received 40 applications for setting up new schools of which 13 were for Marathi medium, 12 Konkani medium, 7 Urdu medium and remaining were for English medium. But giving permission for English schools is not possible as per the policy of the government.”
“The decision on Konkani and Marathi schools will be decided after getting feasibility reports and these reports have started coming in. Nothing can be said at this moment in terms of issuing permissions as already the numbers of schools in Goa are more. There is at least one school within a radius of one kilometer,” Bhat said.
Asked whether government schools could face enrolment issues if permission is granted to new primary schools, Bhat said, “Permission can be given to only those few schools in areas where currently there are either no schools or reaching is a problem. We have received applications across all areas, even areas where currently there are schools.”
Sources said that if these new primary-aided schools were allowed in areas which already have a government school, the latter might face closure due to lack of enrolment as currently many government schools are on the verge of closure.
The department had earlier said that it had received 20 applications from educational institutions for setting up new Higher Secondary Schools (HSS) across Goa, and permissions would be granted based on feasibility reports which have already started coming.
