MAPUSA
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant assured the Goa Legislative Assembly that unsafe school buildings will be repaired before the monsoon. Structural safety audits of 568 schools are complete, with 302 more due next month. The PWD has been directed to prioritise repairs and finish by the end of May.
During Question Hour, St Andre MLA Viresh Borkar suggested a dedicated nodal agency for repairs, but Sawant said the PWD would complete the work on schedule.
Debate also covered the National Education Policy (NEP) and the National Credit Framework (NCrF). Quepem MLA Altone D’Costa asked if 1,100 classroom hours are mandated; Sawant clarified that of 1,200 total hours, 1,100 are for teaching and 100 for co-curricular activities, which schools may allocate as needed.
Opposition Leader Yuri Alemao said there is no clear national mandate or monitoring for NEP in Goa. He noted previous instructional hours were 1,045 and questioned starting the academic year in April during peak summer, adding some school safety audits remain pending. Sawant said the April start was after consultations with parent-teacher associations, and only about 20 days are used for classes.
Aam Aadmi Party MLA Venzy Viegas raised concerns over the lack of fire-fighting infrastructure.
Sawant said schools have no cooking facilities, so fire risk is low, while Viegas argued fire-fighting systems are mandatory regardless.
