Goa govt aims to develop state as education hub: Sawant

Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Thursday said his government intends to develop the state as an education hub.

Sawant was speaking at the inauguration of the two-day Manohar Parrikar Vidnyan Mahotsav.

"The Goa government is taking education sector very seriously. The state will soon have an international skilling centre, where international-level skills would be imparted," he said.

The literacy rate in Goa is very high, he said.

"Our aim is to make Goa an educational hub. Although we are a small state, the people of Goa harbour big ambitions," he said.

"With the presence of engineering colleges, Goa Institute of Management, BITS, hotel management and catering institute, Goa medical college, NIT and IIT, we are moving in the right direction," he said.

As part of the Manohar Parrikar Vidnyan Mahotsav, lectures by researchers and scientists have been organised.

Two Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) were signed between the Goa government and the CSIR (Council of Scientific and Industrial Research) during the inauguration ceremony on Thursday.

Sawant said under these MoUs, eminent scientists, including Nobel laureates, will be invited to the state.

"This will offer exclusive opportunity to various stakeholders, such as students, teachers, opinion makers, policy makers, researchers, scientists and general public to interact with them and learn about new development," he added.

State Waste Management Minister Michael Lobo and Principal Scientific Advisor to Union government, Dr K Vijay Raghavan, were also present on the occasion. During the function, a book on Goa's late chief minister Manohar Parrikar was released.