Goa Deprived of New World-Class University

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THIS is a humiliating development for Goa with immense implications for Goa’s knowledge economy and knowledge ecology. At present Goans have too many problems and public issues at hand and have no priority to discuss the future and fate of higher education.

Goa is a famous international tourist destination with high percentage of literacy and contributes Rs 10,000 crore to the central government’s revenue annually. As compared to states which have bagged 16 world class universities, Goa pays the highest per capita taxes and earns the highest per capita foreign exchange for the country but now it appears that the Ministry of Human resources development (MHRD) has applied its’ own educational ‘Gadgil-Mukherjee’ formula to unjustifiably exclude Goa from the list of locations of the 16 new world class universities despite Goa’s intrinsic merit, international image and the solid backing of Goa’s well placed NRI community for any venture that has international dimension and magnitude.

The Goan government and our visionless political establishment owe an explanation to the people. They should tell us specifically what Goa lacks which states like Orissa, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajastan claim to have to get new world class universities. The central government also did not consider Goa favorably for the establishment of any of the eight new IITs and seven new IIMs that have been bagged by other states possibly because their governments and MPs did good lobbying at the center.

Ultimately crumbs would be thrown in Goa’s begging bowl if the ill-conceived idea of the so called upgradation of Goa University materialises as per the allegedly secretive plan taking shape since November 2007, bypassing the state cabinet and the Goa legislative assembly. What is the use of seminars and debates if the central government has already drafted the bill to take over Goa University? On August 7, the MHRD said that – “In three states, existing state universities would be taken over by the Central government and converted into Central universities. These are Dr Hari Singh Gaur University, Sagar (Madhya Pradesh), Guru Ghasidas University, Bilaspur (Chhattisgarh), and Goa University.”

Gaur University was originally a private university and Ghasidas University is in a backward area. Did anyone raise the question as to whether other state governments wasted their time in discussing the suitability or unsuitability of getting IITs, IIMs and new central and world-class universities? Did they submit detailed feasibility reports to the MHRD? If we compare the sequence of the events and the developments behind them before the MHRD made the announcement (Eight IITs, Seven IIMs, 16 central and 14 world class universities) with the tame proposal of Goa government allegedly clearing take over of a state university, then it would be seen that in fact Goa would be the ultimate loser.

Of course as has been shown by the delayed unrest over SEZs in Goa, it would take some time for the truth to sink in and the society to wake up holistically and respond democratically. The Goa government should have been emphatic on its’ stand by making it clear to MHRD that ‘if educationally and economically less advanced states with poor English and technical literacy are getting new IITs, IIMs, central and world class universities then why not Goa?’ Is not the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO), a success story? Has not Goa accommodated a fully autonomous Goa institute of Management (GIM) and another private sector higher educational campus – the BITS Pilani’s Goa campus despite jurisdictional restrictions imposed by the Goa University Act, 1984?

The Goa government never came out with a policy on privatisation of higher education. The government has not been able to control the selling of degrees by private correspondence colleges. There is a proliferation of private profit making institutions in Goa that are not controlled by either UGC or AICTE and agents who advertise to sell degrees at a price. Actually this is the major reason why the seats in some post graduate departments in Goa University remain vacant. The students now patronise private agents to get themselves graduate and postgraduate degrees in almost any subject including the sciences. There is no need for attendance and almost everyone clears the examinations. So why they should apply to Goa University if they have agents assuring them the degrees with less efforts? At least one thousand students every year including some teachers are using this means to complete the post graduation.

Did the state government establish any ‘educational offences’ wing to control this trade in higher education? Why not an amendment to enlarge the Goa University Act, 1984 to ban private tutorial and correspondence colleges which deprive enrollment to Goa University? But instead of going deeper into such issues, the state government has been treating the entire educational spectrum of Goa’s present and future very superficially. The government has been showing a great crisis of self-confidence, possibly due to prolonged political instability and ideological stagnation. Goa, a wealthy state of cultured and creative people has ample scope to accommodate three universities – the present 23 year old Goa University, besides a well planned new central university dedicated to a single or multiple specialist areas like medicine, pharmaceuticals, earth sciences, ecology, environment, tourism, Ocean studies, maritime, nautical and navigational sciences where Goa has intrinsic strength, talent, expertise, potential and a world class, truly international university in cultural fields consistent with Goa’s international brand identity.

Even the grandson of Alfred Nobel, Mr Claes Nobel who has sent a proposal to MHRD to establish a non profit ‘United earth peace university’ in India would be willing to come to Goa with a full package of new ideas provided our leaders rise to the occasion and prepare themselves to host such proposals.

The learned educationists of Goa were not foolish when they demanded a separate post graduate center in 1965 affiliated to Bombay university and chose to opt for a state university, after a considerable debate despite tempting offers to set up a central university under the union territory administration.

A careful and critical reading of the objectives of Goa University act, 1984 would make it clear that Goa aimed to have a state university as a special purpose vehicle to develop the state and meet the aspirations of people liberated from the colonial regime. These objectives are absolutely non-negotiable and actually need to be comprehensively enlarged to make Goa University a committed engine to develop the state commensurate with the challenges and demands of the 21st century. Additionally, a new central and a world-class university would have been our economic force amplifiers – but our government has let us down miserably on these proposals. But failure of our political leadership would be the gain of other less deserving states, as future developments would prove.