MAPUSA
Despite the opposition breathing down his neck, a cheerful Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Wednesday donned the hat of a quizmaster at the Swayampurna Yuva programme in Mapusa and asked a gathering of youth to name a recent scheme announced by the government for students.
On getting no response, Sawant was forced to announce a prize to anyone who names the scheme.
With no satisfactory answers forthcoming, Sawant went a step further and provided a clue that 100 per cent of students had taken benefit of the scheme, but yet again drew a blank from the gathering.
Providing the answer to his question, he informed the gathering that just two months back the government announced 50 per cent fee cut for general stream degree students.
“It’s surprising that we do not have knowledge about schemes that we ourselves take benefit from. This is the state of affairs. A lot of people do not remember what work the government is doing,” Sawant lamented.
“Many times, people do not know what the government is giving us. They don’t understand and won’t even make an effort to understand,” he added.
The chief minister was addressing the students after inaugurating the Swayampurma Yuva job fair and career guidance programme at the Dnyanprasarak Mandal’s College in Mapusa in the presence of Labour and Employment Minister Jennifer Monserrate.
Aldona MLA Glenn Ticlo, Mapusa MLA Joshua D’Souza, Labour Commissioner Raju Gawas and DMC College patron S Pokle were also present.
In view of the ongoing pandemic, the State government in August had reduced tuition fees by 50 per cent to all general stream degree students.
Later, 50 per cent of tuition fees for engineering and other professional courses were also waived off.
Sawant said the labour and employment department was earlier organising job fairs but this time the government decided to give it a little twist to make the youth Swayampurna Yuva.
“To be Swayampurna Yuva, every Goan youth needs to build his career or business and get a job opportunity. I call it Swayampurna Yuva only because the youth should know the opportunities available in the government and the State,” he said.
He said the government was providing a subsidy of up to Rs 10 lakh IT startups and called upon the youth to be job creators.
The CM informed that the government has started an apprenticeship scheme in the human resource corporation and a fellowship programme for the postgraduates.
“We have laid the foundation stone for a national forensic science university offering four courses for Goans. It is the third such university in the country,” he said.
He also informed that the government had passed a bill to set up a private university in the State, for which three persons have shown interest.
He further disclosed that six colleges in the State will set up coaching centres to train students to answer competitive exams.
Labour and Employment Minister Jennifer Monserrate, Aldona MLA Glenn Ticlo and Mapusa MLA Joshua D’Souza also spoke on the occasion.
