PANAJI: Chief minister Pramod Sawant said on Tueday that many universities and institutes of higher education have expressed interest in setting up campuses in Goa. Speaking at a conference held by the National Institute of Technology (NIT), Goa, he said that the state is on the path to becoming an educational hub soon.
“It is a matter of pride for us that Goa is witnessing significant development in higher education and especially in technical education,” Sawant said. “Goa has BITS-Goa, IIT-Goa and NIT-Goa besides the Goa College of Engineering and other engineering colleges. Many institutes and universities are interested in establishing their campuses in Goa, and so there is no doubt that Goa will soon become an educational hub.”
Last year, the state government approved regulations which allow private higher education institutes to set up campuses in the state.
Significantly, the CM’s statement on developing Goa as an educational hub comes days after sustained opposition by locals forced him to shift the proposed permanent campus for IIT Goa out of Melauli, Sattari. Locals from villages across Sattari had supported the stir.
Sawant said that institutes like NIT-Goa have extended tremendous help and support to the state government at different junctures, from training 300 school teachers to improve teaching methods in maths and science, to contributing financially during the Covid-19 crisis.
“This has been proven at different instances, the most recent being the Covid-19 situation. I am thankful to the institute for extending support by providing the hostel block as a Covid care centre,” said Sawant.
NIT-Goa director Gopal Mugeraya said that it was former chief minister Manohar Parrikar’s dream to have an educational hub in Goa.
“When Parrikar came for the NIT convocation in 2017, he said these beautiful words, ‘Gopal, if you want to improve a state, please improve the quality of education’,” Mugeraya said. “He said Goa is blessed with beautiful ambience, beautiful beaches and more than that, a very very receptive crowd. Goans are very cooperative and respect human beings, and as a result, Goa has high potential to be one of India’s education hubs.”
He said that the state has the capacity to host 25,000 students, which will transform Goa into a vibrant place.
“My dream is that Goa should have more than 25,000 higher education students walking on the streets so that the total fabric, complexion and texture of Goa will change.”