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If Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar's plans to take Goa to the cyber age fructify, every student in the state will be able to take home a personal computer once he/she enters Class XI.
Presenting the state's annual budget on June 14, Parrikar announced the Cyber Age Student scheme, by which each and every student entering Class XI can take home a PC after paying a nominal charge of Rs 500.
Approximately 12,000 students in about 80 higher secondary schools will become eligible to take part in the scheme.
The chief minister has made a provision of Rs 100 million for the scheme.
The scheme is likely to have a major impact on Goan society as higher secondary schools have sprouted even in the interiors of the state.
Consolidating the initiative taken by the erstwhile Congress governments, the present BJP government has already completed the task of providing computers to almost all the 365 high schools and 80 higher secondary schools in the state.
"I plan to integrate the latest computer aided teaching techniques in the curriculum of schools and colleges to achieve the dual purpose of enhancing familiarity with computers and simultaneously imparting a qualitative thrust to educational inputs," Parrikar told the state assembly.
The chief minister has also made provision for a special one-time grant of Rs five million for computerisation of colleges in the state.
Parrikar also talks of e-governance, e-administration and even e-security for the citizens.
For the last five years, governments have aimed at creating an e-culture in the state, though very little has actually been achieved till date.
However, even in the midst of this talk of bits and bytes, the government has its feet firmly on the ground.
It plans to introduce mid-day meals at the primary school level to ensure availability of nutritious food to students.
Besides, it also plans to re-introduce the concept of interest-free loans to economically backward students to enable them to pay for their education.
Keeping in mind the need to preserve the cultural heritage of the state, the government has enhanced grants for the development of Konkani and Marathi languages to Rs four million each while a special provision of Rs one million has been made for Sanskrit.
The scheme for teaching music and performing arts has now been extended to almost 100 schools while the state is in the process of constructing well-equipped auditoriums in major towns.
Parrikar has announced plans to have smaller versions of such auditoriums in every taluka.
And as a tribute to Gantapaswini Mogubai Kurdikar, the renowned Goan classical singer and mother of Padmvibhushan Kishori Amonkar, the state will now have a music academy.
"I hope these efforts would unearth talent and produce more Lata Mangeshkars and Kishori Amonkars who would make Goa proud in the years to Come," Parrikar said.
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