Staff Reporter
Panaji
The state government on Tuesday signed a path-breaking memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Harvard University to conduct an educational programme for strengthening and enriching public higher secondary schools in Goa for the benefit of poor students.
The government aims to ensure that no student loses an opportunity to learn and excel because of the circumstances of birth or background.
The state aims to bridge the social category gaps in access, participation, and learning outcomes.
The MoU was signed at Mantralaya, Porvorim.
It was inked between Harvard University, represented by Dr Dominic Mao and Dr Andrea Wright, and the state government, represented by education secretary Prasad Lolayekar.
The MoU was signed in the presence of Chief Minister Pramod Sawant.
Sawant said the collaboration aims to launch transformative educational programmes to enhance and empower public schools, providing significant benefits to the underprivileged students.
The initiative – Programme for Scientifically-Inspired Leadership (PSIL) – will serve as a dynamic platform bringing together three distinct groups: Harvard University’s college students who will take up the role of instructors; college students from Goa who will act as instructor fellows; and students from public higher secondary schools under the education department, who will participate as primary beneficiaries of the programme.
Sawant added that the state is undertaking major reforms in higher education by taking the state education system to the highest global standards, making education effective, inclusive and contemporary rooted in the Indian culture and ethos.
This is extremely important because students typically pick a stream – science, arts, or commerce – after their 10th grade and there are very limited opportunities for students to receive formal education on topics that are outside their streams.
The programme has built the curriculum focusing on skills and knowledge they would not normally get in their classrooms.
Each module offered in the programme will be taught by an instructor who will be assisted by an instructor fellow. The module will be developed with oversight from programme directors.
The higher secondary school student to instructor ratio will be no more than 20:1. A total of 100 higher secondary school students – 50 females and 50 males – of grade 11, high-performing, underprivileged students will be trained in the first pilot programme.
Significantly, 40 teachers will also undergo pedagogy training under the programme.
The Chief Minister said there is a lot of information transfer and expansion of worldviews and Goa’s young brilliant minds should not suffer because of lack of opportunities.
There is a scope in future for the state government to possibly provide support for our students to attend Harvard Summer School, he said.
