the goan I network
MAPUSA
Educationist and a visionary, founding principal of Rosary College, Navelim, and former principal of St Xavier’s College, Mapusa, Prof Newman Fernandes, passed away after a brief illness late Thursday evening. He was 68.
Apart from being a brilliant instructor, Prof Newman was known to be a visionary and contributed immensely to the field of education.
He is credited to have worked towards gaining the status of the first “College with Potential for Excellence” for the St Xavier’s College, Mapusa.
As chairperson of the Principals’ Forum, he is attributed to have moved the Goa University to shift to the semester system of continuous evaluation.
He is known to have worked hard to get approval for the “Autonomous College” system in Goa and to get the SHIATS-Allahabad recognized as a deemed University.
He has also helped the Don Bosco College of Agriculture, Sulcorna, to put the systems in place for accreditation by ICAR-Delhi.
Principal of St Xavier’s College, Fr Jeronimo D’Silva, described Prof Newman as a visionary who was concerned about the quality of education.
“He was a great visionary. He started a number of self-financed courses which have benefited the institution and the students. He was concerned about the quality of education and contributed tremendously towards its cause,” Fr D’Silva said.
“He would encourage the faculty to organise workshops and seminars that helped to go beyond the syllabi,” he added.
Close friends and relatives informed that the funeral will take place on Sunday evening.
