PANAJI
The Goa cabinet on Wednesday granted full autonomy to the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT).
The move is aimed at making the body the pivotal agency for the effective implementation of the New Education Policy (NEP) which the State government has adopted from the current year for school education at the intermediate level -- Class IX.
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said the BE (Mining) course, which had been discontinued for several years, will be restarted from the current academic year. He said, there will be provision for lateral entry to this course for diploma holders in other engineering branches like mechanical and electrical.
The cabinet also approved two positions in the Eye Bank -- counsellor and technician -- besides a legal officer for the Directorate of Mines and Geology since the department's legal cases are on the rise.
In yet another decision, the cabinet approved the absorption of some half-a-dozen employees of the Central government's social welfare board for Goa since the office has been shut down here by Delhi. The staff will be absorbed in the Women & Child Department, the cabinet note said.
