Goa - Education

Education

According to the 2011 census, Goa has a literacy rate of 87% with 90% of males and 84% of females being literate. Each taluka is made up of villages, each having a school run by the government. Due to the low levels of corruption and the quality of the government schools, private schools are less in demand, compared to the rest of the country. All schools come under the Goa Board of Secondary & Higher Secondary Education whose syllabus is prescribed by the state Education department. There are also a few schools run by the all-India ICSE board or NIOS board. Most students in Goa complete their high school using English as the medium of instruction. Primary schools, on the other hand are largely run in Konkani and marathi (in private, but government-aided schools). As is the case in most of India, enrolment for vernacular media has seen a fall in numbers in favour of English medium education. As per a report published in The Times of India, 84% of Goan schools run without an administrative head.

After ten years of schooling, students join a Higher Secondary school, which offers courses in popular streams such as Science, Arts, Law and Commerce. A student may also opt for a course in vocational studies. Additionally, many join three year diploma courses. Two years of college is followed by a professional degree. Goa University is the sole university in the state located in Taleigao and all Goan colleges are affiliated to it.

There are five engineering colleges and one medical college in the state. Goa Engineering College, National Institute of Technology, Goa are government funded colleges whereas the private engineering colleges include Don Bosco College of Engineering, Fatorda, Shree Rayeshwar Institute of Engineering and Information Technology, Shiroda, and Padre Conceicao College of Engineering, Verna. There are three Medical institutions viz. Goa Medical College (Govt. funded), Shri Kamaxidevi Homeopathical Medical College and Hospital and Bharatiya Sanskriti Prabodhinis Gomantak Ayurveda Mahavidyalaya. In 2004, BITS Pilani started its second Campus, BITS Pilani Goa Campus at Zuarinagar near Dabolim. The National Institute of Technology Goa was started in 2010.

There are also colleges offering pharmacy, architecture and dentistry along with numerous private colleges offering law, arts, commerce and science. There is also two National Oceanographic Science related centres, NCAOR and the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) in Vasco and Panjim.

The best known schools in Goa include Vidya Prabhodini at Porvorim, K.B. Hedgewar High School, the Progress High School, Don Bosco High School, People's High School, Mushtifund High School in Panaji, Sunshine Worldwide school in Old Goa, Shiksha Niketan and Nisha's Playschool in Torda, A. J. De Almeida High School in Ponda, S.S.Samiti's I.V.B.D. High school in Dhawali-Ponda, Vidya Bharati, Mahila And Nutan English High School in Margao, Manovikas in Margao and the prestigious Sharada Mandir School in Miramar, St. Joseph's Institute in Vascodagama.

Among the best known colleges in Goa include Shri Damodar College of Commerce and Economics, V.V.M's R.M.Salgaocar Higher Secondary School in Margao G.V.M's S.N.J.A higher secondary school, Don Bosco College, D.M's college of Arts Science and Commerce, St Xavier's College, Carmel College, Chowgule College, Dhempe College, Damodar College, MES College, S. S. Samiti's Higher Secondary School of Science, etc.

In addition to the engineering colleges, there are quite a few polytechnic institutions such as the Father Agnel Polytechnic, Verna and the Institute of Shipbuilding Technology, Vasco da gama which impart technical and vocational training.

Many residents, however, choose to take up courses in other states as the demand for a course in Goa is more than that available. Goa is also well known in India for courses in marine engineering, fisheries, hotel management and cuisine. The State also hosts one of the best business schools in the country – the Goa Institute of Management which is autonomous and was founded in 1993 by Romuald D'Souza. Portuguese is taught as a part of the school curriculum, often as a third language in some schools. The Goa University also offers Bachelors and Masters degrees in Portuguese.