Population growth in Goa has now transgressed into the realm of competitiveness for educational pursuits
As per the 2011 Census Data for the State of Goa, the total population was recorded as 14.58 lakh persons residing in the State.
In applying the decennial growth rate of population at 8.23 per cent which has been calculated for the previous years from 2001 to 2011 by the Directorate of Planning, Statistics and Evaluation of the Government of Goa, the population in Goa for the year 2021 would be estimated at 15.77 lakh persons residing in the State.
What this estimation of population growth indicates is that Goa can expect a steady growth of 1.2 lakh persons for every decade.
HIDDEN FIGURES
But factually, the number of persons presently residing in the State would be much higher owing to the plethora of real estate projects being propagated in the State and the growing number of opportunities for employment, it is no secret that the number of people who hold a de facto domicile in the State is much higher than the census estimates.
At this level of unchecked population growth being experienced by the State, the infrastructure facilities would have a difficult time in catering to the population explosion occurring in the State.
‘Population Explosion’ being defined as a sudden increase in number of individuals in a specific area at a given time.
EXPONENTIAL GROWTH
In this ever growing population in the State of Goa, there are bound to exist a strata of mutinous outliers who are determined to extrapolate the disadvantageous circumstances prevailing in the other States in order to weed out discrimination from every aspect of public life.
The concept of mutiny here is not be viewed in similarity to the Mutiny of 1857, rather, the feeling of being mutinous has been defined by the Britannica Dictionary as: “feeling or showing a desire not to do what someone has told or ordered you to do”.
While the term Mutiny has been commonly used for a rebellion among members of the military against an internal force, but it can also sometimes mean any type of rebellion against any force.
Mutiny does not necessarily need to refer to a military force and can describe a political, economic, or power structure in which there is a change of power.
Therefore this mutinous strata of overpopulated Goa now finds itself confronting the dearth of educational opportunities within the state of Goa since the development of educational facilities in the State has struggled to keep pace with the exponential population growth phenomena prevalent in the State.
OVERPOPULATION
A priori, it would be relevant to cite the effects of overpopulation: More people means an increased demand for food, water, housing, energy, healthcare, transportation, education and more.
And all that consumption contributes to ecological degradation, increased conflicts, and a higher risk of large-scale disasters like pandemics.
Resultantly, the population growth in Goa has now transgressed into the realm of competitiveness for educational pursuits.
For instance, earlier in the year 2007 when Goa wasn’t as highly populated as in the present period, in order to seek admission to Law Colleges, it wouldn’t be as difficult as it has become in the present time.
Back in the year 2007, the Principal of the Law College in South Goa was obligated to check the marks obtained by the intending candidate and decide whether the student obtained the desirable cut-off marks of 45 per cent in any stream in 12th Standard Examinations.
Flash forward to 2023 and the Law Colleges in Goa are now obligated to administer a competitive examination in order to ensure that the brightest students succeed to the limited seats being offered the general category of students. While a substantial proportion of seats have to be mandatorily reserved for the designated categories notified in the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admission) Act, 2006.
The question which needs to be asked here is: Whatever happened to inclusive education?
Because from the perspective of a common man of general prudence, the candidate seeking admission in the general category would have to be extremely intelligent or the candidate would have to prove eligibility for the reserved category seats.
Then where does the fate lie of the candidates who have secured above average marks in the general category but are now forced to compete fiercely for half the proportion of seats that are available in the general category.
This is where the genesis of competitive examinations need to be enunciated: The pressure put upon these students by their families and educational institutes is another reason which causes physiological stress.
With the increase in the number of students, the standard of the exams is also increasing in order to screen students.
In order to select eligible candidates from a large number of aspirants, the questions become tougher with time.
Since it would not possible to evaluate subjective answers by such a large number of students because of logistical problems. Hence, a problem-based objective questions needs to be given.
ACADEMIC PRESSURE
It can be surmised that academic pressure now represents a serious problem affecting Goan students.
As with time the exam patterns have to keep changing considering that the number of applicants have been steadily increasing, it therefore becomes tougher to secure a seat in a good college in Goa due to the population explosion prevailing in the state.
In conclusion, Goa has now to come to terms with the most prevalent psychology among students in today’s culture and that is to fiercely compete with other candidates for securing a certain place in a degree course that leads to a certain profession.
Can Goa really afford to politicise such delicate issues through its student bodies wherein the narrative of the propaganda revolves around the comparison of a competitive education culture prevalent in other states while meting out a disadvantageous position to Goan candidates that find themselves caught in the cross hairs of administrative jargon and discriminatory politics.
