PANAJI
Aldona Congress MLA Adv Carlos Alvares Ferreira on Tuesday slammed the government for attempting to hurriedly force through a change in the academic schedule to move the school academic year to April.
Addressing the media, Adv Carlos said that the move to have classes in April will have a detrimental effect on educational institutions, students’ mental intake and on education itself. “Our academic year used to start in June. Why? There was a reason, because we have a summer -- summers are very hot and it is impossible -- we don’t have AC classrooms, so it’s very impossible to have these classrooms filled up and students attending when it’s unbearable heat which is here,” he said.
“Why is the department in so much of a hurry? Have they done a study? Have you taken the stakeholders into confidence? Have you taken the views of parents and teachers and students? he asked.
“It will not only affect this curriculum and the teaching and also affect the students’ mental intake. What I feel they should have done is -- announce the proposal now, for next year 2026-27 and get feedback. I think the government is, very sadly, playing with the future of educational institutions and I think this is completely wrong,” he also said.
“We are opposing the style of implementation of the NEP. It looks like there is one man who is dictating how to do this, one man who sits in his house. He doesn’t think of other factors. It is only his way and no other way and this is the way it has to be done and the government is accepting it?” he further said.
The department’s hurry is believed to be prompted by a desire within the government to be the first state to have completely implemented the New Education Policy (NEP), no matter the cost.
“Is the Department of Education so insensitive? In UP (Uttar Pradesh) and even in Bihar I’ve seen the educational system has followed things in a much better way of following NEP.
This speed will kill, not only education institutions, but education itself,” Adv Carlos said.
