New Centres of Excellence to promote tech-driven education
PANAJI
The State government on Tuesday approved a series of key decisions to strengthen and expand the Coding & Robotics Education in Schools (CARES) Scheme, including a three-year extension of the programme and the creation of a Special Purpose Vehicle for PMU-CARES.
At the 6th Empowered Committee meeting chaired by Chief Minister Pramod Sawant at the Mantralaya, the Empowered Committee decided to extend the CARES Scheme for a further three years under the Directorate of Technical Education.
In a statement issued by the CMO, the committee also approved the incorporation of PMU–CARES as a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) under government corporations to facilitate the commercialisation of innovative STEAM-based ed-tech solutions.
The committee granted a one-year extension to Teach for Goa Fellows, the Training Officer and the Research and Development Officer associated with the scheme. It also approved a one-year annual maintenance contract for ICT laboratories, including Single Board Computers and Wi-Fi routers under CARES.
EoI for setting up CoE
In line with the Goa Budget 2025 announcement, the meeting cleared the proposal to float an Expression of Interest (EoI) for setting up Centres of Excellence (CoE) and Whiz Kid Learning Spaces, initially one in each district. It was also decided to organise ‘CARES Goa – Open Tech Day’, a Tech Expo and Hackathon to showcase student-led innovation and talent.
After the meeting, Sawant said the Empowered Committee reviewed the impact of CARES on school education and acknowledged measurable improvements in Mathematics and Science learning outcomes, as reflected in the PARAKH 2024 report.
He added that 54 CARES-mentored students featured in the Top 100 of the BEBRAS International Computational Thinking Challenge 2025, competing among over five lakh students nationwide. Sawant further noted that PMU–CARES has received national recognition with the SKOCH Gold Award and the Best Entry Award.
