THE GOAN NETWORK
PANAJI
Expressing complete disappointment at the drop in performance, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Wednesday raised concerns over the consistent slip in the ranking of Goa University at the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF).
Addressing an event at GU, Sawant, who also holds the Education portfolio, claimed that more than 80 per cent of students, especially graduates, fear answering competitive exams, including those of the Goa Public Service Commission (GPSC). Hence, he urged the varsity and its affiliated colleges to undertake an assessment to identify the reasons behind this issue.
The Chief Minister said that despite providing adequate infrastructural and human resource support, the State’s sole varsity’s performance is witnessing a drop every year.
“This is a big question before me,” he said, expressing confidence that with a step forward in research courses, the varsity will make its best effort to ensure its rank doesn’t fall further.
Sawant said that there are 50 per cent of students who are unaware of such competitive exams, which is very surprising to him.
“As far as my knowledge goes, 80 per cent of students, especially those who have graduated, are not ready to face competitive exams like GPSC. When asked, they say they are scared and not confident enough to clear it. This is something to worry about. We need to assess where we are falling short in our educational techniques,” Sawant said.
“I appeal to Goa University and its affiliated colleges to conduct the assessment and identify the reasons behind this attitude. If we are not able to tackle this situation now, in the near future, we may produce two to three researchers every year, but more than 50 per cent of youths would be without competitive knowledge,” he added.
Earlier, Sawant inaugurated the GU Research Park Unit - GURU (UniGoa Knowledge and Innovation Foundation).
He informed that the GURU initiative, with an investment of Rs 12.85 crore, has established state-of-the-art facilities and equipment to support young innovators. He expressed confidence that the Park will play a pivotal role in nurturing young innovators and incubating start-ups in bio-engineering, agriculture, healthcare, and electronics.
