slug: crash course
A lot of water has flown down the river Mandovi in the last fifty four years since the liberation of the territory from the colonial yoke. Education and Health parameters are on the gradual rise in the State. With steady rates of literacy, Goans today boast of a good educational environment. But one question puzzles one and all. It is our “Babu Mentality”, which seems to have ingrained in our own susegado world. With a metoric rise in the educational institutes of all denominations over the last half a century Goan youngsters have to now look beyond the cosy empregrade (clerk). In today’s infotech age, it seems to be “APPLY APPLY NO REPLY” which brings in frustration among the young minds looking for a cosy 9 to 5 job in downtown office. The think out of the box attitude is the in thing which should and is the mantra for any young Goan wanting to make it big in a rapidly changing job market out there. So what exactly should a youngster do? This is the million dollar question which needs to be answered tactfully and patiently.
Our educational system every year throws up thousands of graduates and post-graduates which the market forces think are somehow not employable in the present day market dynamics which undermines the educational system to a great extent. The tricks of the trade in the job market solely lack in our academic curriculum.
Rote memory is not the solution for creating visionary young minds. Practical training or hands on experience is what makes a young person stand out in a crowd. Right from our basic institutions of learning emphasis is purely on studying and not learning. “Concept Clarity” is the focus area where our educationists should concentrate their attention. Studying for the exam syndrome has made us Bonsais in the present dane age for which we will not be pardoned at all. It is time to introspect the way we teach or say facilitate the teaching learning process by which the pupil learns the basis by which the foundations are laid constructively. The ability and the capacity to comprehend is another vital area which needs attention.
The rat race or herd mentality of creating doctors and engineers should give way to a more dynamic creative bent of mind thinking which prompts the young mind to take prudent decisions about his career path. This can result in rise in wellness quotient among our Goan youth which can yield tangible and positive results fructifying into a healthy society where frustration and depression will be on the way out. Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam always looked for challenges rather than opportunities which made him a Pan-India figure. A visionary attitude is the need of the hour today. Youth without direction pose a great challenge to the destiny of a country. It is like a rudderless ship which cannot charter its path through the rough weather. Our youth have to have big aspirations and dreams.
As the State is unique in India’s guldasta, the young minds through the quality education imparted in our system have to be in the quest of seeking answers to make our society a better place to live in. The State faces challenges today in a number of areas like garbage management, traffic congestion, illeffects of tourism to name a few. Vigilante youth is the fulcrum of any society and with a big vision and the ability to be proactive in the social sphere with continuous brain storming the young minds can certainly come with a vision document for the State in their academic days itself. They can come in the mainstream of society by sharing their inputs which can certainly be of immense help.
At present a microscopic minority of our youth seem to be involved in this domain. Time has come for this section of educated intelligentsia not only to dream big but also to work on certain concrete issues for realising the true potential of the youth which can prove to be a turning point and place the youth in a proper perspective among the various stakeholders in our society.
