Goan Education - Mission Possible !

By Mr. Plastino D'Costa

Most of Goa’s problems can be solved if Goa focuses more on its Human Resources by making Goan Education as the number one priority. Educated Goans today form a very small minority and to bring an effective change in Goan society we need this minority to transform into a majority.

It is heartening to know that the Government of Goa is framing a policy on education which could address the education issue on two fronts simultaneously. Firstly, to accelerate the learning curve of Goans who have already completed their education so as to bring them ahead of the curve and secondly, to have a massive overhaul of the primary and secondary school education.

Since this policy is framed by the educationists, it might be incomplete if it does not include sincere inputs of Corporate Goa, or the Catholic Schools of Bombay. Corporate Goa, as they are supposed to absorb most of the educated and the Catholic Schools of Bombay because they have been in the education field far too long to be ignored.

Corporate Goa must have a say in the education policy because after Goans complete their formal education Corporate Goa is the only entity which measures performances of working Goans in Goa year on year through their internal performance evaluations. They are in a position to compare Goans with the rest and might be in a position to spot weaknesses in our Goan workforce. Corporate Goa could also bring the desired practicality in the syllabus.

One role that has been underplayed in the Indian success story has been the role of Catholic Schools and convents in shaping intelligent and confident Indians. Today most Indians especially Bombayites cannot deny the role of Catholic Schools and Colleges played in shaping their careers and providing the basics. From Colaba, Fort, Marine lines, Byculla, Mahim, Bandra, Andheri and further, Catholic Schools by the dozens have put a tremendous effort compared to any other community. Gujratis, Mahrashtrians, Marwaris, Sindhis, Parsees or the miniscule Goans have all benefited the most.

Unfortunately there is a big difference in the Catholic Schools of Bombay compared to the Catholic Schools of Goa. Barring a few city schools most catholic village schools of Goa don’t measure up to the average schools of Bombay. Definitely there must be genuine reasons for their underperformance and if this education policy cannot address these issues then the purpose of this policy might be defeated.

The Government of Goa through the good offices of the Bishop of Goa or independently could request the Catholic Schools of Bombay to send their inputs or even send their representatives to be part of the think-tank team to frame the policy. Surely they will oblige knowing the character of the people of Bombay, but for that to take place Goans need to keep an open mind that sometimes there is a need for a successful outsider to come and question our failing system and give positive feedback.

Surely solutions like large scale teacher exchange programs on the lines of student exchange programs are bound to be recommended. After all, it is economically feasible to exchange students and teachers from Bombay then from Lisbon or London. Besides the geographical advantages Goa has with Bombay, it is better not to reinvent the wheel, as Bombay’s education is time tested and has successfully delivered results in the form of creating successful citizens of India.

Naturally grass root changes in education will come with a cost to the government and to have a sustainable education model, the government must withdraw the sops given to this sector. Freebies usually put pressure on the system which eventually does not have the desired effect and therefore all subsidies need to be withdrawn or reviewed. When Goans are made to pay for education naturally they will try to get their moneys worth and take more interest in education. The Government will also improve its fiscal health and will not have succumbed to desperate measures of selling casino licenses to improve their budgetary balances.

The biggest failure of the Goan education system has been that majority of the Goans have never demanded it, as they have never thought beyond those sailing ships. The lure for money has been too strong to resist that these ships have even attracted the educated Goan or forced them to leave education midway.

The potential of education is still not very well acknowledged in Goa and therefore it needs to work towards a sustainable, dynamic and transparent Education Policy, which not only transfigures the goals of the Generation Next Goan but transforms the entire society. The Success of Education in Bombay has been that there has been hardly any political interference, how to keep the present Goan politicians with personal agendas out of this education policy might be the biggest challenge to this mission.

Above Article first appeared on Herald - Goa on 30th December 2007