CM planning Parrikar school at Goa University campus

PANAJI: Chief minister Pramod Sawant on Tuesday said that the state government is planning a school of law and governance at Goa University named after late CM Manohar Parrikar “to encourage youngsters to participate in the democratic system”.
Sawant said that the government spends more than 6% of its money on education, and would continue to do so.
He was speaking at the release of ‘Sassay’, a peer-reviewed international Konkani research journal, and inaugurated the ‘Shenoi Goembab Computer Centre’, a well-equipped computer unit-cum-language laboratory at Goa University’s Konkani department.
Sawant said that students should be encouraged to answer administrative exams such as those conducted by the Goa Public Service Commission (GPSC) and Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) in Konkani.
“More and more students should try to answer competitive exams in Konkani,” he said. “By doing so, we can take our language and our culture one step ahead.”
Meanwhile, Prakash Parienkar, an associate professor at the department, said that it is planning to document languages and dialects of tribal communities in the state. The department, he said, would also launch a certificate course in spoken Konkani aimed at non-native speakers. The first batch will commence on September 1, he said.
Find Goan item other than cashew nuts: Sawant
Chief minister Pramod Sawant on Tuesday stressed on the need to look beyond cashew nuts as gifts. “We must identify a Goan item other than cashew nuts that we can endorse and present to our guests from another part of the world,” he said. He also said that Konkani scholars and poets should think about ‘Rajyageet’, a song depicting Goan heritage.