6
mail us at >> desk@thegoan.net
log on to thegoan.net @thegoaneveryday
New things in NEP, but
challenges remain
The new education policy has envisaged a friendly approach to the evaluation of
learners; this is complete departure from the traditional system of examinations
PRABHAKAR TIMBLE
A
novel and innovative education policy
was long overdue to answer the chal-
lenge of quantity and quality of educa-
tion in our country. Despite the Right
to Education making it binding on the
state to provide education for all, the challenge
of numbers and the vast majority of children re-
maining out of the formal school system remain
a daunting reality. The glaring quality gaps are in
terms of skill deficiencies and knowledge deficits
of students coming out from educational insti-
tutions. Our educational system is loaded with
information and content. The methodology is
usurped by tutoring, making learning a casualty.
The educational system has also severe shortcom-
ings in terms of inculcating progressive values,
life skills and a self-learning tool-kit to facilitate
lifelong learning.
Judged under this backdrop, the new education
policy attempts to lift the existing curtain with a
bouquet of reforms commencing from pre-pri-
mary stage to higher education. Earlier, we had
made a structural change heralding the 10+2+3
pattern from the traditional 11+4 and introducing
the vocational stream after the high school stage.
In practice, the branching off did not materialize
and the bee-line for general academic stream con-
tinued. The new proposal is 5+3+3+4 i.e. Eleven
years of school education and four years of degree
education. The primary stage would be five years
and the vocational choice starts from the ninth year.
There is a certified recognition through the award of
a basic certificate, diploma and degree on comple-
tion of 12th, 13th and 15th year of education respec-
tively.
The early route available for choice of vocation-
al courses commencing from Std 6th should tailor
school education to diverse needs making it inclu-
sive to different segments of the population. Such
broad and multiple options attempt to encompass
all in the formal school system by making education
relevant. Rigid and limited choices restrict effective
access. It also explains the high rate of school drop-
out. The challenge would be to implement relevant
vocational courses with adequate skill content and
practical internship programme so that they prove
their utility and usefulness.
The thought of early childhood care and educa-
tion (ECCE) and the commitment to create guidance
materials for home learning from the age of three
to six so as to facilitate the preparatory stage of the
child is welcome. Scientific learning materials will
definitely contribute to the healthy and holistic
growth of the child.
The new education policy reaffirms that the
mother-tongue is the ideal medium of instruction
at the primary level of education. This is a univer-
sally recognized view and not a new finding. The
challenge here is to win the acceptability of the
parents who perceive future losses and hindrances
for their children if the medium at primary stage is
mother-tongue, vernacular or local language. The
solution can only be through a strong grounding
in English along with the local language. Every re-
DISCLAIMER: The opinions expressed in the articles on this page are entirely those of the writers and do not reflect the viewpoints or policies of the newspaper. 
THE SUNDAY INBOX
Confusion galore
over Covid care
Apart from fear and anxiety, there is confusion
when it comes to Covid care. Doctors and experts
are divided over the effectiveness of HCQ and other
drugs. Even the much-talked-about vaccines are yet
to roll out. The long-term side effects of these vac-
cines are worrisome. The profit motives of pharma-
ceutical companies are real concerns, even though
governments and philanthropic institutions are
extending huge grants to fast track the production
of vaccines. Looking at the number of deaths, the
effectiveness of masks and sanitizers is question-
able. Lockdowns have postponed the inevitable.
Some argue and believe that it is a mere flu. Why
are then deaths in millions? Why has the infection
spread like wildfire across nations and communi-
ties? Too much information and misinformation are
floating around and WHO has not been able to give
firm clarifications.
NELSON LOPES, Chinchinim
Cortalim junction &
fear of landslide
It must be said that the hillock at the Cortalim junc-
tion that has been cut to pave way for the widening
of the approach road to the new Zuari Bridge poses
Facebook.com/thegoaneveryday
We fall abysmally short to reach a public
spending of 6 per cent of our GDP on
education. If we desire to take the nation
to be the global knowledge superpower,
the spending should be in the range of 8
to 10 per cent
gional language spoken in India is the language of
the nation. They are no less than Hindi or any other
language finding a place in the 8th Schedule to the
Indian Constitution.
English is perceived as the global currency today.
The English-medium schools are the fastest grow-
ing educational institutions in India. Today, it is er-
roneous to regard it as a colonial and foreign lan-
guage. It is a paradox that Sanskrit which is spoken
and understood by less than 50,000 of our popula-
tion is regarded as a national language on the twin
grounds of it belonging to a proverbial golden past
and also being considered as a sacred language to
establish communication with the Gods. Irrespec-
tive of what the new education policy states in re-
spect of the mother-tongue, English would stand
well-ensconced as the aspirational language. It
would be advisable to consider English language
as native to India so that students have a choice of
learning a foreign language and the local language
in the three-language formula.
The issue of utmost significance is regular ren-
ovation in curricula, course content and teach-
ing-learning methodologies. It is a welcome sign
that early and primary education would solely be
through play methods and adopting the ‘learning
by doing’ approach. The expansionary meaning
provided to the curriculum to include what earlier
would go under the nomenclature of co-curricular
and extra-curricular augurs well for the overall de-
velopment of the young learners. Added to this is
the proposed experiential approach to learning of
the curriculum. Activity-based learning sharpens
the faculties of thinking, creativity, dialogue, debate
and teamwork. The challenge is to make it happen
through effective teacher training and motivation.
Otherwise, it would remain safe and secure in the
policy document with no results at the ground level.
The new education policy has envisaged a friend-
ly approach to the evaluation of learners. This is a
complete departure from the traditional system of
danger to road users and commuters. There have
been several incidences of rocks and mud slipping
down from the hillock. Some of them have missed
hitting vehicles. This happens to be a very busy
junction with hundreds of vehicles passing through
every single day. Heavy rains have caused the
mud to become loose resulting in the rolling down
of rocks and stones along with the mud onto the
road. There is every possibility of a huge boulder
rolling down the hillock due to the porous condition
and hitting a moving vehicle. The frequent rolling
down of stones and mud must be considered as a
warning sign of a possible landslide occurring at the
junction thereby posing risk to the travelling public.
It seems absolutely necessary to build a retaining
wall along the hillock on a war footing to prevent
any eventuality.
ADELMO FERNANDES, Vasco
Stay alert to misuse of
ammonium nitrate
The massive explosion in a warehouse in a port of
Beirut, Lebanon, which was due to the storage of
ammonium nitrate, has sent shock waves across
the world. At least 157 people were killed and thou-
sands injured in the explosion. It is well known that
ammonium nitrate is used as an explosive. A total
of 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate exploded
in the huge blast. Reports have emerged that 740
tonnes of ammonium nitrate have been stored in
The Goan (Playstore) Instagram.com/thegoaneveryday
examinations which centered on promotions and
failures. We start from the stage of no examinations,
no school bag and no rigid syllabus in the Basic
Learning Stage. A credit system is sought to be in-
troduced for higher levels. No student is expected to
waste any year with a failed marking as there would
be provision for repeat evaluation to improve on the
scores and credits in the same year.
There are also new proposals offering alternative
models and multiple paths to tackle the challenge
of growing numbers. The State and National In-
stitutes of Open Schooling is one such track to be
strengthened. The policy also envisages public-pri-
vate partnership which is rechristened as a pub-
lic-philanthropic partnership. Autonomous schools
and educational institutions would get encourage-
ment. Of course, there are allegations of education
turning elitist but we need multiple paths on our
road to meet the challenge of quantity and quality.
The new education policy document also pro-
poses to bring all regulatory mechanism under one
banner. So, the future will see the dismantling of
University Grants Commission (UGC) and All India
Council of Technical Education resulting in forma-
tion of the Higher Education Council of India (HECI)
with four verticals to deal with regulations, accredi-
tation, grants and general education.
Though the new education policy offers re-
forms to make education child-centric offer-
ing a good degree of flexibility in methodolo-
gies, evaluation and choice of courses, there
are real challenges at the implementation
stage.
We fall abysmally short to reach a public spend-
ing of 6 per cent of our GDP on education. If we de-
sire to take the nation to be the global knowledge
superpower, the spending should be in the range of
8 to 10 per cent.
We hail the new education policy as a for-
ward-looking document directed to make our young
learners global citizens. The same government
takes pride in distorting history and social issues
in school textbooks. Laying the foundation stone of
Ram Mandir at Ayodhya, the Prime Minister tells the
nation that 5th August is as important as 15th Au-
gust (Independence Day). If we make the remnants
of the past as the agenda and pride of the future,
any reformist policy falls like a pack of cards.
(The writer is an educationist
and political commentator)
containers in a Chennai port meant to be delivered
to a cracker manufacturing factory in Sivakasi. In
Goa, a fertiliser factory at Zuarinagar may be manu-
facturing fertiliser-grade ammonium nitrate. Given
its myriad uses in mining, quarrying and construc-
tion work, it would be prudent for the government
in Goa authorities to stay alert and ensure there is
no storage of ammonium nitrate anywhere. This has
to be done as a precautionary measure to prevent
unforeseen eventualities.
ELVIDIO MIRANDA, Via e-mail
Covid: New team of
doctors & road ahead
Finally, the government has decided to have a team
Using positivity to cope
with Covid negativity
Negative reactions of people have really nothing to do
with Covid, but more to do with their nature; if it’s down
to Covid, be patient, it will get better as time goes by
DR UBALDINA NORONHA
F
ollowing my article, ‘Treat the disease, not
the diseased’, in The Goan on August 2, I
have received a range of comments and
more importantly testimonies of hurt,
coupled with anger, that have made some
bitter memories towards persons who have been
insensitive or rude towards them.
Such a reaction is natural and it takes time to
get over such feelings of hurt. Some of my limit-
ed wisdom (if one can call it that) I share here is
meant for the people who reached out to me.
Firstly, such negative reactions of people have
really nothing to do with Covid, but more to do
with the nature of the person. If it’s down to Covid,
be patient, it will get better as time goes by, or the
virus can go away totally somewhere in the future.
But there is no such guarantee about any
change in the nature of people. Not unless they
want to change themselves. You should not expect
people to change so that you feel better or feel vin-
dicated for the bad experience. Their behaviour is
not within your control.
In fact, some people may still want to stubborn-
ly support their stand, misinformed as they may
be, through the grapevine or with the inadequate
knowledge they have about Covid. Of course, one
has to also keep in mind, there are people who
have been careless in their actions, knowingly or
unknowingly, in this pandemic and hence have
received negative reactions. This is justifiable.
On the other hand, due to Covid, if you have
been an unwarranted target for another’s nega-
tivity, one can hope that they directly clarify with
you, rather than spread the misinformation, both
about you and the virus.
In the very unlikely event of this not happen-
ing, what you can do is change your interpretation
and hence reaction to them. I find in such circum-
stances, using your own unique sense of humour,
may help you cope in a much better way. Let it be
as whacky as possible if it means to bring a smile
to your face, so you get the hang of seeing things
in a new witty light.
of doctors to head the Covid battle. Why the delay?
Now that we have a team instead of a single head,
we need to be ahead of the game. This is after rem-
edying the numerous lacunae in the present set-up.
The dangerous news we now have comes from
Wuhan. Almost out of the pandemic, China is
not sleeping like us but gathering knowledge on
various fronts. They have tested a sample of people
-perhaps 100 - who recovered from the virus in
April. They found that 90 per cent of them have their
lungs still in a damaged state. Some have to rely on
oxygen cylinders even three months after cure. In 10
per cent the antibodies disappeared. These are very
worrying signals. The team of doctors must work
out treatment regimens to counter this right now.
For motivation check out the statistics of Singapore
and New Zealand. The new team cannot afford to be
lax. It has to innovate. Perhaps ensure all patients
receive oxygen even if levels are normal. This is
purely a medical decision. Peoples’ lives are in their
hands. The team does not seem to have anyone
who worked on the frontlines. Hope this will not be
our downfall.
R FERNANDES, Margao
Frequent power cuts
and poor infrastructure
Panaji is seeing frequent power outages these days.
The situation can be improved by controlling the
technical losses in the system through effective en-
Sunday August 9, 2020
Some people may still want to stubbornly
support their stand, misinformed as they
may be, through the grapevine or with
the inadequate knowledge they have
about Covid
SCENARIO 1: Someone has been misdiagnosed
with being Covid positive even before a need for
the test to confirm the same arises. Frontline work-
ers face this issue. This power of prediction, of
some people, wrong as it might be, can be used by
our meteorology department. After all, our weath-
er predictions get so mixed up, it can do with extra
telepathic help. All one needs to do is realign such
persons in the right direction, to get their wrong
predictions some fancy forecasting news.
SCENARIO 2: You have tested positive with the
rest of your contacts being negative, but have been
given the positive tag in any way along with you.
Or you have tested negative, and yet have been
baptised as positive for Covid. Giving you positive
outcomes come what may, are they? Look at the
way how wonderfully optimistic such pessimistic
persons are!
SCENARIO 3: You tested positive along with
the family, and faced ostracism from neigh-
bours to the extent that you have been literal-
ly forced to leave your home temporarily. Well,
look at the God-given talent of the people who
led you to these actions. They are just at the
wrong location and with both, a misplaced and
displaced aggression. Imagine these people
along the LOC of our country, and their power to
get the enemy to retreat farther away from their
own land. Now, you are just helping them hone
their skills for the safety of our country in the
future.
SCENARIO 4: You have been projected wrongly
as being irresponsible by not quarantining yourself
(even before anyone in your family actually goes
for a Covid test). Of course, there is a point here.
You should stay totally at home so that another
person feels better about it. Quick, get the contacts
of human rights groups, emails of all bureaucrats
and host of online petitions. Let them go ahead
and argue that you are granted infinite leave from
work. They are actually doing you a good deed.
For this, Covid be damned, just go and hug them
tightly. Worse comes, both of you can avail of such
leave.
Keep smiling, be happy and laugh a lot, that’s
the best for the immune system. And everyone
can live happily after even in pandemic times!!!
(The writer is Associate Professor, Dept of
Psychology at St Xavier’s College)
-Editor
ergy audits. Energy audit is a mechanism to identify
the points of leakages in the system by comparing
the energy received and consumed in a network.
Energy audit at the transformer level would further
help in proactive monitoring of the health of the
transformer regularly. Issues can be dealt with at
an early stage before a breakdown occurs. There
is a lack of periodic inspection to record the status
of transformers. The government of Goa should
implement compensation for power cuts. The
GSERC should enact new rules in a bid to ensure
interruption-free power supply to consumers. If the
electricity board can impose fines on consumers
for not paying their bills on time, then similarly
the department should compensate consumers
for frequent power cuts. It should set a target for
ensuring supply of quality and uninterrupted power
to consumers.
K G VILOP, Chorao