PANAJI
Starting classes in schools and other academic institutions in the physical, offline mode is not on the table for the government as of now.
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant told the Goa legislative assembly that his government has no plans as of now to start academic work in schools and other institutions in the physical mode.
It will be considered only after consulting the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and when the latter issues specific instructions and guidelines for starting physical classes, he added.
Classes will continue in the current online mode, Sawant said, adding that with the intention to be ready as and when the conditions are appropriate, the Goa government has requested the Centre curtail the gap between the two Covid-19 vaccination doses for teachers and non-teaching staff of academic institutions to 30 days much on the lines it was done for seafarers.
AID FOR STUDENTS
The Chief Minister also said that the government is considering providing assistance to students belonging to financially weaker sections to buy the required gadgets such as smartphones which are a necessity for online education..
The chief minister was responding to a Calling Attention Motion moved by Opposition Leader and some other legislators who raised various concerns related to to online education and difficulties faced by the student community across the State due to poor internet connectivity issues.
GOA BROAD BAND NETWORK
Responding to LoO’s plea to utilize the Goa Broad Band Network (GBBN) which has inter-connected all of Goa's panchayat bodies to the State secretariat, Sawant said low bandwidth was hampering its usage to provide WiFi connectivity to schools.
"We have tried doing it in five localities (panchayats)," he said, adding that however officials are working on how to utilize the infrastructure.
Sawant also blamed previous governments for converting the GBBN's Public Private Partnership (PPP) model from BOOT (build“own“operate“transfer) to BOO ((build“own“operate) model.
"The Goa government had paid Rs 218 crore to UTL upfront but the infrastructure is not transferred to us but owned by UTL due to nature of the PPP model adopted then," Sawant said, adding that the State is paying Rs 20 crore annually for leasing the GBBN.
TELECOM POLICY
The chief minister said, to improve internet connectivity in the State, his government had adopted a new 'Telecom Policy' and 145 applications for erecting mobile towers were received from service providers.
"Installation of 60-70 towers has already started," Sawant told the House.
BHARAT NET
Sawant also said that the Centre has assured that BharatNet will be rolled out in Goa along with the 16 other States.
In early July, the Modi cabinet had approved a Rs 29,430 crore BharatNet project on a public-private partnership (PPP) basis in 16 States. It was to cover 3,60,000 villages but Goa had not featured in the list of 16 states it was to cover.
ACADEMIC PLAN
LoO who moved the motion urged the State government to prepare an 'Academic Action Plan' in consultation with experts and stakeholders as it appears that online classes may have to be prolonged due to the pandemic.
Earlier, several other legislators including, Rohan Khaunte, Sudin Dhavlikar, Luizinho Faleiro, Vijai Sardesai, Prasad Gaonkar, Subhash Shirodkar, Ravi Naik and Churchill Alemao joined in to highlight poor infrastructure and internet connectivity issues across the State.
