Goa to implement hundred per cent NEP in higher education from next academic year: CM to Centre

PANAJI: The Goa government will implement a hundred per cent of the syllabus in higher education institutes along the lines of the National Education Policy from the next academic year, chief minister Pramod Sawant said on Sunday. His remarks came at the seventh NITI Aayog Governing Council meeting chaired by prime minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi.

Sawant said the state government is working on the skilling of manpower through agreements signed with various industry associations in the state. “We have started working on the implementation of the National Education Policy in the state. The implementation has already begun in the state-run and aided schools,” an official release quoted Sawant as saying. The chief minister said the state government is sensitising parents, teachers and students about the NEP. “The implementation of NEP from college to university level has already started. From the next academic year, a hundred per cent of the syllabus in the higher education institutes would be on lines with the NEP," the CM said.

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Speaking about manpower skilling, Sawant said Goa has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with every industry association in the state for skill development. “We are preparing for the manpower required by the industry in future. We have signed agreements with 35 industry associations,” he said.

Sawant said Goa's hospitality industry will require two lakh manpower over the next five years which would be trained by the government. Speaking about agriculture, Sawant said Goa is stressing the cultivation of paddy and cashew crops in the coastal state. “We are also insisting that pulses and oil seeds be cultivated as part of crop diversification,” he said. “We had a history of importing 100 per cent of required horticultural products from other states, but with the Central government promoting the agriculture activity, we are importing only 20 per cent of vegetables from the other states,” he said.