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GOVERNMENT SHUTS DOWN KONKANI SCHOOLS!
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GOVERNMENT SHUTS DOWN KONKANI SCHOOLS!

Aug 02-Aug 08, 2025, Stray Thoughts August 1, 2025 , by

And a few stray thoughts for yet another Saturday. For a Saturday following the week when Tata Consultancy Services, the largest IT company, announced that it was sacking as many as 12,000 of its middle-level and senior executives. For a Saturday following the week it came to light the steep fall in demand for primary education in Konkani. For a Saturday following the week when a battle broke out between Street Providence, the NGO promoted by Donald Fernandez and Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant. For a Saturday following the week when the scandal of both government and private colleges in Goa involved employing teachers on a lecture basis. For a Saturday following the week when the false ceiling of the Western Music department of the Kala Academy collapsed during the heavy rains on Sunday, July 27, 2025. For a Saturday following the week when Goans become victims of get-rich-quick schemes.

TATA TO SACK 12,000!
 AND a few stray thoughts on Tata Consultancy Services, the largest IT company, announced that it was sacking as many as 12,000 of its middle-level and senior executives. The company has revealed that the worst affected will be employees who have been with the company for ten to 15 years but have not upskilled.
Primarily, this is due to a shift to artificial intelligence-powered skills, which have replaced the old coding skills. The former broad-based hiring has given way to a more skill-intensive structure, replacing volume with value. Many employees, not only of the TCS but other IT companies, have been idle for three to 18 months because technology has made them redundant.
This marks the end of the era when just as Bata shoes were identified with footwear, Tata’s were identified with lifelong job security. Like the Japanese company, historically, Tata’s have the reputation of even retaining staff after their retirement as long as they are productive. For the last five years, IT companies that provided the biggest employment opportunities to freshers, have sharply cut down on campus recruitment. The IT majors like TCS, Infosys and Wipro, used to hire an average of 20,000-50,000 fresh engineers every year.
Now it is reported that all the IT companies together have added fewer than 500 employees in the last two years. On the contrary, many IT companies have delayed the joining dates of employees who have been recruited. The focus has shifted from hiring fresh graduates to the lateral entry of experienced, qualified professionals. TCS claims that it has offered relocation and retraining options to employees so that they can retain their jobs.
The decision by TCS to retrench 12,000 employees has sent shock waves across the IT industry. This reflects the crises in technical education as even the information technology courses in the Indian Institutes of Technology have not kept pace with the changing requirements of the Infotech sector. The job market has suddenly shrunk for engineers in the country.

NO TO KONKANI
 AND a few stray thoughts on the steep fall in demand for primary education in Konkani. The Fatorda MLA Vijai Sardesai disclosed in the ongoing Legislative Assembly sessions that eight of the 12 talukas in the state do not have even a single government primary Konkani medium school. Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said he was helpless as parents preferred to admit their children in English-medium primary schools. Pramod Sawant challenged the MLAs to produce at least 20 students opting for education in the Konkani medium to start a government primary school for them. The ground reality is that there are no takers for the vernacular medium primary schools.
There has been a sharp drop in Marathi medium government primary schools also. There is no incentive to go to Konkani medium primary schools as knowledge of Konkani has not been made compulsory for jobs in the private sector. Admittedly, knowledge of Konkani is compulsory for jobs in the government. But government jobs are house full, and recruitment has stopped except on a contract basis.
There is been no encouragement for Konkani since Pramod Sawant took over as chief minister. While the chief minister has been protecting Marathi schools, even the existing government Konkani school have been closed down on the grounds that parents are not interested. This is also true of Marathi medium school, most of which have less than 40 students across all four standards at the primary levels.

STREET PROVIDENCE BATTLES
 AND a few stray thoughts on a battle which broke out between Street Providence, the NGO promoted by Donald Fernandez and Chief Minister, Pramod Sawant. Earlier in the week, Donald Fernandez had published a front-page advertisement in “The Navhind Times” asking the police to take charge of the 150-plus homeless senior citizens who are now staying in 11 shelter homes run by the NGO. Though Street Providence is a private charity that provides a home for destitute, handicapped, mentally affected senior citizens, it has been constantly demanding support from the government. Street Providence promoter Donald has alternated between praising and threatening the government.
The latest dispute has arisen due to the delay in releasing the second instalment of Rs50 lakh assistance sanctioned by the government for the 11 shelter homes run by Street Providence for the homeless on the streets. Referring to the advertisement released by Donald Fernandez, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant commented in the ongoing Legislative Assembly, “Some people have got the habit of blackmailing.” The CM claimed that Street Providence has not submitted required utilization certificates. All organizations getting government funds have to provide proof that the funds have been used for the purpose for which they were granted.
The chief minister assured that once the utilization certificates have been submitted the money under the scheme will be released to Street Providence. Donald Fernandez, who does not believe in diplomacy, has made it worse for Street Providence by posting on social media that the funds were not released because he had refused to pay bribes to officials in the Social Welfare Department.

TEACH ON LECTURE BASIS
AND a few stray thoughts on the scandal of both government and private colleges in the state employing teachers on a lecture basis. This means that college lecturers have no assurance of a regular salary at the end of the month because they are not hired on contract. Their earnings depend on how many lectures they are allotted every month.
What is worse is that the highly qualified teachers are paid less than the unskilled workers. Even daily wage construction laborers are paid more than the lecturers. Teachers at the school level employed on a lecture basis get only Rs400 to Rs650 per lecture. Teachers in the HSS or college section get only Rs750 per lecture. The government is not willing to consider an increase in the payment made to teachers even though it is planning to increase the minimum wages for skilled labor to Rs700 a day.
No wonder nobody wants to teach any longer and prefer multitasking jobs in government departments even though they may be graduates or post-graduates.

KALA ACADEMY WOES
AND a few stray thoughts on the false ceiling of the Western Music Department of the Kala Academy which collapsed during the heavy rains on Sunday, July 27. Fortunately, no students or teachers were present in the violin room when the false ceiling collapsed just at the entrance of the room.
This is the latest in a series of disasters which have been befalling the Kala Academy. The Kala Academy was renovated last year at the cost of over Rs50 crore but the renovation is so shoddy that something or another keep breaking down. It is not only civil works but also the lights on stage and air-conditioning. During the performance of a Marathi natak, the sound system collapsed. Similarly, the lighting system did not work and the air-conditioning developed problems. Minster for Culture Govind Gaude was sacked from the Cabinet as he was in charge of the renovations of the Kala Academy.
Govind Gaude however blamed Chief Minister Pramod Sawant who is in charge of the Public Works Department which supervised the renovation. The sufferers are the artistes who look forward to performing at the Kala Academy which attracts large audiences for well promoted natak and tiatr.
The Kala Academy is the only auditorium suitable for natak, tiatr, and musical performances, in entire Tiswadi taluka. We only hope that the Kala Academy is fully functional in time for IFFI during the end of the year.

GET RICH GOANS
AND a last stray thought on Goans becoming victims of all the get-rich-quick schemes. In the latest incidence, Rajdeep Gaikwad and his wife were induced by a group of cheaters from Kolhapur to invest in a scheme that promised a monthly return of Rs4,500 on every Rs1,00,000 invested. The Kolhapur-based conman promised to return the principle sum invested after the log-in period of two years. The couple reportedly invested Rs16 lakh. They got the first few installment of the monthly returns after which the agent disappeared. An increasing number of Goans are falling victim to get rich quick schemes. Everyone these days is bitten by the bug of wanting to get rich quickly.

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