PANAJI
As the State’s first veterinary college prepares to welcome its inaugural batch of 40 students on November 16, its infrastructure will expand in phases, with a new building planned to take students through the home stretch of their five-and-a-half-year programme, from the third year onwards.
While existing facilities at Curti will accommodate the first two years, the Public Works Department (PWD) is expected to initiate the tendering process for the proposed building before the Model Code of Conduct comes into force.
Dean Rajkumar Solomon said the college would grow its infrastructure in step with its students. “The current infrastructure is for the first and second years, and a plan for the new building to accommodate students for the third, fourth and fifth years has been approved by the government. The PWD is in the tendering process and the facility will be ready before the second batch completes its programme to move into the third year,” Solomon told The Goan.
Faculty recruitment has also been an important part of the college’s preparations, particularly in basic science subjects. The Goa Public Service Commission advertised 29 posts, including positions in Anatomy, Physiology and Biochemistry, for which the availability of candidates meeting the prescribed qualifications was limited.
The eligibility criteria require a postgraduate degree along with NET qualification or a PhD in the relevant field of veterinary science. The recruitment criteria were subsequently revised to broaden the pool of eligible applicants, officials said.
Meanwhile, Solomon said the college had already been allotted the faculty strength needed to start the first-year classes without disruption. For now, the academic base comprises two classrooms and seven departments, each having two to three laboratories to support practical training.
The inaugural batch of 40 Goan students, comprising 26 girls and 14 boys, have all passed NEET. They will spend four and a half years in academic training before completing a compulsory one-year internship.
