IIT campus will be set up in South Goa, asserts Sawant

He, however, politely declined to reveal the site zeroed in by the government to set up the IIT campus, saying the process of identification of land is underway.

When the media insisted on seeking more details on the location of the IIT in South Goa, the Chief Minister shot back: "We will invite you for the laying of foundation stone programme once the land in question is in government possession.”

The Chief Minister spoke his mind on the IIT imbroglio on the sidelines of the Parisksha pe Charcha programme held at Ravindra Bhavan Margao on Monday.

When the media sought to know the fate of the IIT project, Sawant shot back: “The IIT project will be set up in Goa and will come up in South Goa. We have set in motion the process to identify the land and take the same in government possession.”

Earlier, addressing the students at the programme, the Chief Minister made an impassioned plea to the students not to come under examination stress, but to treat the tests as a festival. “Students take unnecessary tension during examinations, as a result of which many a student has ended life, while others return home even without writing the papers,” he said, adding “Go to the examination without stress and treat the exams as a festival.”

Saying that today’s students are fortunate to have their parents educated as graduates and post-graduates, the Chief Minister said: “I was the first graduate in my family. Today’s students should not have any tension since your educated parents are there to guide you.”

He added: “You are also fortunate that you can interact with the Prime Minister on the Pariksha pe Charcha programme. During our days, even the MLAs did not hold such programmes. We even did not know who was the sarpanch."

The Chief Minister expressed satisfaction that a teacher and two students from Goa have been invited to Delhi to participate in the Chief Minister Pariksha pe Charca programme.