Goa: Canacona to mark I-Day with series of patriotic-themed events

Times of India | 3 months ago | 10-08-2022 | 06:36 am

Goa: Canacona to mark I-Day with series of patriotic-themed events

CANACONA: As part of the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, a mega Tiranga Mahotsav will be held at Canacona on Saturday. Speaker Ramesh Tawadkar said that celebrations have been planned at the three main state borders of Patradevi, Castlerock and Polem. “The responsibility for the Polem celebration is with Canconcars”, Tawadkar said. “It is equally important that ‘desh bhakti’ is generated amongst all the citizens of our country and that citizens become responsible,” he said, adding that Canacona too, will participate in the nationwide patriotic celebration with fervour. According to organisers, more than 2,000 college and school students will participate in the various programs, some of which are scheduled to be held simultaneously from Polem to Palolem. There are about eight to 10 freedom fighters from the taluka who are still alive. All may not participate in the celebrations, organisers said, as some are living elsewhere in the country and the movement of some others has been limited due to age. As part of the celebration, over 100 students will visit places at Angadi-Majali in the neighbouring Karwar district of Karnataka where once the Azad Gomantak Dal and Goa National Congress fought for freedom. Principal of the Shree Mallikarjun College and program in-charge, Manoj Kamat, said that Tawadkar will welcome the torch-bearing contingent that will light a torch at Polem following which school students will sing patriotic songs and a march past will be held. There will also be a street play and Run for Tiranga competition. The Tiranga Mahotsav is being jointly celebrated by the directorate of higher education in association with the Shree Mallikarjun College and the deputy collector (Canacona) supported by the directorate of education and Taluka Level Steering Committee (TLSC).

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Joblessness not just govt’s fault, colleges need skilling education: Goa CM Pramod Sawant
Times of India | 7 hours ago | 08-12-2022 | 04:40 pm
Times of India
7 hours ago | 08-12-2022 | 04:40 pm

PANAJI: Referring to the recent Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) report that has placed the unemployment rate in Goa at 13%, chief minister Pramod Sawant on Wednesday said that the state government cannot alone be held responsible for this. Among the unemployed are even engineering graduates, Sawant said, adding that institutes of higher education need to place more stress on introducing skilling courses for students, which they can undergo parallel to their graduate programmes. “You must have read that the unemployment rate in Goa is 13%. Who is responsible for it? Is it only the government that is responsible? If you see the unemployed, more than 70% are graduates. And not just BA, BCom, BSc, engineering students, too. I ask myself, why are those who have done engineering unemployed in Goa. At present, the requirement is skill education,” the CM said. He was speaking at a seminar organised by the Vidya Prabodhini College, in collaboration with the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC). Colleges need to change their courses based on the requirements of the times, Sawant said. “If we are unable to identify the present-day requirement, then the unemployment ratio will keep rising. In 2014, I started a small nursing and paramedical institute. From 2014 to 2021, around 800 students have passed out from the institute. It is a one-year course after Class XII, and I can proudly say that all the students are employed. When we speak of the National Education Policy, we need to take initiatives to introduce skill development courses parallelly,” said Sawant. He said colleges need to take initiative to have more interactions with the industry and understand their requirements and prepare students accordingly for the employment market. “Recently, the directorate of higher education and the directorate of skill development signed agreements with different industries, and we are taking several initiatives. There are principals from 64 colleges here. Only you can take the initiative to bring down the unemployment rate,” Sawant said. He said that the state government recently required a yoga therapist but could not find a sufficient number of qualified persons in Goa. The CM said that the state had invited applications for fellows for 13 positions, but only four joined, despite the honorarium of Rs 35,000 a month. Even at the National Institute of Watersports in Goa, only about 25% of the students are Goans. Colleges need to create more awareness about these areas where employment opportunities lie, Sawant said. Goa, besides its reputation as a tourist hotspot and IT industry hub, also needs to develop as an education hub, which is in line with the nature of Goans and their hospitality, Sawant said. Setting up of a sports university is also on the anvil, he said. Only 26 of 64 colleges NAAC accredited in Goa. In Goa, of the 64 institutions affiliated with the Goa University, which are under the purview of the directorate of higher education, only 26 institutions have been accredited by NAAC till date, said the CM and education minister. “I expect all institutes now will carry out the NAAC accreditation process. This will give a boost to our students to perform better,” he said.

Joblessness not just govt’s fault, colleges need skilling education: Goa CM Pramod Sawant
Meet govt school principal from Punjab giving wings to his students’ wish – flying in an airplane
The Indian Express | 18 hours ago | 08-12-2022 | 05:40 am
The Indian Express
18 hours ago | 08-12-2022 | 05:40 am

In a country where flying in an airplane remains an unfulfilled dream and a lifelong desire of children coming from families with humble backgrounds, here’s a government school principal from Punjab who is literally giving wings to this wish of his meritorious students.Three years ago, when Rakesh Sharma joined as the principal of Shaheed Gurdas Ram Memorial Government Senior Secondary School (Girls), in Zira of Ferozepur district, he noticed that the students from this school were not securing merit positions in Class X and XII board results. To boost their morale and motivate them to work hard for making it to the state merit list, he asked them their one wish which he would fulfill if they make it to the merit list. With most of them coming from underprivileged or middle class families, the students expressed they want ‘jahaaz da jhoota’ (airplane travel) if they pass their exams with flying colours.Agreeing to pay for their air tickets from his own pocket for any destination of their choice within the country, Sharma promised his students that he will fulfill their wish if they work hard and make it to the state merit list. Four girls from the school made it to the Punjab School Education Board (PSEB) merit list this year – two each from Class X and XII.For Bhajanpreet Kaur and Simranjit Kaur – who secured merit rank in Class XII – it was a lifetime experience when they recently went to Goa from Amritsar via plane, thanks to their principal who kept his word and paid for their tickets.For both girls, it was an educational-cum-leisure tour, as they chose to go to Goa after Bhajanpreet’s project on “Deteriorating Soil Health due to Stubble Burning” was selected for INEX Expo-2022, organised by Goa State Innovation Council on November 18, and won bronze medal at Goa again.  Bhajanpreet Kaur, 18, whose father works as a ‘Granthi’ in a local gurdwara, said that for her the flying trip was a dream come true.“For students like us who come from lower middle class families, it only remains a dream to fly in a plane at least once in our lifetime. I am the only one from my family who got an opportunity to travel in a plane… Had our principal sir not sponsored our tickets, we might not have been able to go to Goa to participate in the national-level contest where my project also won the bronze prize and we got a chance to interact with judges who had come from other countries. Such an exposure for government school students is rare. My father earns around Rs 10,000 a month, and affording an air ticket is not possible for us otherwise,” said Bhajanpreet who had secured 98.4% in science stream in Class XII board exams and is now pursuing BSc physics. Both girls were accompanied by their teacher who went to Goa with them voluntarily. Simranjit Kaur, whose father works as a truck mechanic, said that sitting in a plane and watching earth from sky was a lifetime experience for her. “In our school, students mostly come from very poor families and they haven’t even travelled to Chandigarh or Delhi via train… so travelling in airplane is a dream which mostly remains a dream for life. After our principal sir announced that he will send us on plane if we get our names on the merit list, all of us started working hard to fulfill our wish and to secure a place on the merit list,” she said.Next, two students from Class X – Shital Sharma and Lakhvir Kaur – who had secured merit positions will be taking a flight for Delhi on December 25 for an educational trip. “Two teachers will be accompanying them and they will be shown education-related sites across the capital. We will also take care of their accommodation and other expenses during the tour,” principal Sharma said.The school principal said that he decided to take them on air travel after students themselves expressed their wish to fly during ‘Baal Sansad’ (Children’s Parliament) which is held in the school every month to discuss school-related issues. “For children who come from small villages with their parents working day and night to arrange two meals a day, sitting in a plane is not something that happens every day. They said that they want ‘jahaaz da jhoota’ (airplane tour) to which I agreed and told them to work hard and earn their wings. It was just a way to motivate them for better results,” said Sharma.

Meet govt school principal from Punjab giving wings to his students’ wish – flying in an airplane
Goa Institute of Management breaches into Elite B-school grouping
Times of India | 1 day ago | 07-12-2022 | 09:45 pm
Times of India
1 day ago | 07-12-2022 | 09:45 pm

With the placement season rolling out, students from higher education institutions across the country hope to make it big and strike a chance to get the job of their dreams. The placement season at Goa Institute of Management (GIM) is almost reaching an end and has had quite a vibrant start. The placement season at GIM rolled out in September and is estimated to end later this month. This year, a new record has been set as core Post-Graduate Diploma in Management (PGDM) student, Harshita Banthia, bagged a package of 55 LPA. Harshita says, “Getting placed in Microsoft is a dream come true. The high quality and high standard work culture apart from the challenging projects will not only help me grow technically but would also help me challenge myself as an individual, giving me a head start in the corporate world. I owe a huge part of this accomplishment to GIM. The case-based pedagogy here has helped in building critical thinking and problem-solving skills. The rigorous interview preparation sessions take care of the nitty-gritty of the interviews including the framework and scenarios." ''GIM has been invariably at the forefront of industry excellence when it comes to their students' well-being and education. We encourage our students to bear the torch of conscious leadership and excel in their career paths. Like every year, we have seen tremendous growth in our recruiters' portfolio and placements this year too'', said Dr. Ajit Parulekar, Director of GIM.

Goa Institute of Management breaches into Elite B-school grouping
1,800 Canacona students go without midday meal
Times of India | 1 day ago | 07-12-2022 | 11:11 am
Times of India
1 day ago | 07-12-2022 | 11:11 am

CANACONA: Nearly 1,800 students in schools in Canacona’s Agonda and Khola panchayats have been deprived of the midday meal facility from October 1 after the self-help group (SHG) providing the meals found it uneconomical to continue with the service. Assistant district education inspector (ADEI), Canacona, Lawrence Pereira, who confirmed the development, told TOI that a letter from Omkar SHG, which provided the meals to schools in these areas, has been sent to the department and that the department is exploring alternatives to address the situation. “The government is aware that the rate offered to SHGs is not sufficient, but has not paid heed to our repeated demands to raise the amount. As it was not economically viable to supply meals, we had no other alternative but to discontinue,” said Sandhya Dessai, who runs the SHG. She said that Omkar SHG along with Surbhi, Astha and Shivam SHGs were awarded contracts to provide midday meals in various schools of Canacona. However, Surbhi and Shivam SHGs discontinued the service four years ago citing rise in rates and other technical difficulties. Following this, Omkar and Astha were the only SHGs supplying the midday meal with Omkar catering to 2,900 students, and Astha 1,700 students, Dessai said. Dessai’s SHG continues to provide midday meals to schools in Poinguinim and Loliem-Polem panchayats. Previously, the government had fixed a rate of Rs 5.1 per student from Classes I to IV, and Rs 6.6 per student from Classes V to VIII. These rates were revised to Rs 6.11 and Rs 7.45 per student, respectively, with effect from 2014, Dessai said. SHGs used to supply bhaji pao, sheera, khichdi and pulao dishes, but this year the department of education revised the menu to include idlis, bhaji, pulao, chickpeas or moong, while pao was replaced with chapatis. Dessai said the rates of all these items have increased and hence it was not economically viable to continue with the service at the present rates. Besides the expense related to food items, she said that she has to sustain staff and transportation of the food. “Each of the four vehicles hired to transport the meals is paid Rs 1,000 to Rs 2,000 depending on the distance and the area they have to cover. Besides this, I use my own vehicle to take the food to schools in Marlim and Tirval,” Dessai said, adding that her 11 women staff are paid Rs 300 per day.

1,800 Canacona students go without midday meal