Chief minister demoralizes teachers on Teacher's Day. -- By Nisser Dias

The journey of every doctor, engineer, scientist, astronaut, technocrat, programmer, architect, accountant, analyst and all other professions begins under the watchful eyes of the most important person – Teacher.

And that is the reason ‘Teacher’s Day’ is celebrated in over hundred countries. The day is celebrated as a token of gratitude or appreciation for these architects of character who mould a child to be a man or a woman of substance, calibre or essence.

Sadly chief minister Manohar Parrikar who holds the Education portfolio too, turned this year’s Teacher’s Day on its head and made it a ‘Black Day’. Instead of addressing the teachers, he was urging the students to complain to him about teachers not answering their questions through emails.

How could a chief minister even think so loudly. Instead of asking the students to see things in a positive perspective he was instilling negative thoughts in the frail young minds making teachers vulnerable.

As an education minister it was his bounden duty to boost the morale of the teachers’ fraternity while urging them to reach higher goals and standards so their products (students) become the shining lights of Goa and this country.  But no, Parrikar speech was more like political rhetoric during election meetings, maybe a hangover from the recent conclusion of campaigning for bye-election, wherein he was the candidate.

In the back of his mind, he should have remembered that Goa is second in literacy rating in the country. Parrikar’s duty should have been to inspire, motivate, enthuse confidence in the teacher to achieve the first place in the country but sadly he was discouraging teachers and encouraging students to have a right over them.

He should have realized that behind every successful man and woman, there is an unsung hero – a teacher who silently enjoys tears of happiness when she sees her students succeed, but he was killing this concept.

One would expect from a chief minister that the teachers be asked for their inputs to improve the syllabus, to improve the standard of education and overall development of students, his advice should have been to urge experienced teachers to guide young teachers, his advice to young teachers should have been to learn from the vast experience in handling students from the older teachers, his advice should have been to be abreast of the fast growing technology, teaching and guiding methods.

More-over the chief minister’s advice should have been to be cautious of corporal punishment but he went off on a tangent putting the noose around the teacher’s necks and giving the other end to the students.

And why does the chief minister of a State need to intervene in such matters when there is a principal and headmaster/headmistress, PTA, deputy director and director of education. There are well set checks and balances which can handle issues in schools.

How can the chief minister even think of make such utterances to the students when he himself is burdened with key portfolios like finance, home, education besides others.

Nisser Dias

He should have asked the teachers ways and means to improve government run schools which are in shambles. He should be concerned and concentrate of revolutionizing the infrastructure in the government schools. These schools are run in ram shackled rooms where one teacher teaches two standards in the same room. These schools are where the roof is collapsing. These schools where there are no toilets and playgrounds. The list can be never ending. Successive governments have not anything about it, this is where his focus is required.  

Alas! It is rather a sorry state of affairs where the administration is run by rhetoric and false promises but not by deeds and action.

 

Lopsided lessons on freedom of expression does not impress anybody. -- By Nisser Dias

Chief minister Manohar Parrikar has a habit of only advising people but never accepting advise from others because of his ‘know it all attitude’.

Recently he was addressing the students of National Institute of Technology (NIT) Goa during the convocation ceremony at Ponda, wherein he said, “people talk about their right to freedom of expression, what about the duties, responsibilities and accountability”.

Was the chief minister giving a lecture in Civics? Does anywhere in the ‘Constitution of India’ freedom of expression is interspersed with duties, responsibilities and accountability? Parrikar should answer this first.

The biggest or rather chronic problem with this man is that he thinks only he knows everything and rest know nothing.

This man has to be told that this generation are responsible as they want to see their nation among the developed countries but are being mislead and manipulated by politicians.

The young are contributing in their own way towards the progress of Goa. Has Parrikar the politician failed to realize that Goa’s or India’s biggest enemy is the politician himself as they want to cling to power. Let him ask himself one simple question who leads youth to take up violence? Is it not the politician or political parties? How was Babri Masjid broken? Who lead the lakhs of youth. Have some of those young men from Goa who participated in it demolition not become politicians today?

It is the political class of people who have become insipid in their thoughts, words and deeds and are not allowing the young to take wheel and steer Goa to progress.

Secondly he was advising the graduating students to look beyond earning money and dedicate some years of their professional life for the development of the county.

Manohar Parrikar should first realize that as long as power hungry politicians continue in the political arena, continue with their corrupt practices, continue with their redundant ways of thinking, building bridges where bridges already exists so on and so forth the youth will have to get on with their lives.

He goes on to advise the young minds to give their two, three, five years to the people. Parrikar should recall what he told the press way back when he entered politics, he had said that he sought permission from his late wife to give him 10 years in public life. It is more than 24 years now but he is still dabbling in politics and does not want to make way for young blood. Infact the young blood that was infused in his place was forced to vacate and this man is advising the contrary. Have we all not seen and heard him telling one of Goa’s media channel in 2012 that it would be his last election but he contested again this year.

Can such a charlatan character who himself does not practice what he believes be allowed to preach graduating students? For me it is a complete no-no.

At the same time while chief minister was lecturing students in Ponda, his cabinet colleague Revenue minister Rohan Khante was also addressing students in Porvorim on the same topic of freedom of speech and expression during which he slashed out at NRI Goans for criticizing the government.

Khaunte must first understand that living standards of Goans here in Goa have risen due to the foreign currency NRIs have pumped into the State due to which the GDP has increased. NRIs have sought employment in other countries since successive governments could not and even now provide employment.

Revenue Minister Rohan
Khaunte

Take their criticism constructively as Goans in UK, US and Gulf regions are  experiencing the quality of education, health, transport and through their criticism trying to convince the government that it is high time Goans are provided such facilities. They are criticizing because politicians of all hues have become hard of hearing of the woes of the common-man. They are criticizing because just like us in Goa, NRIs are also convinced that the main aim of the politicians is to fill their pockets and coffers to last them a few generations.

Nisser Dias

The ruling dispensation in Goa is under fire and criticism is because of the manner in which they formed the government. Rohan took the support of the Congress to get re-elected and then for the sake of power jumped on the BJP bandwagon. His very elevation to the ministerial post is based on chicanery and falsehood but has the gall to lecture students on freedom of expression and target the NRI Goans.

It is said that one useless man is a shame, two of them is a law firm and three or more of useless men is a government. This is what Manohar Parrikar’s cabinet is all about.

What Goa does not need are more unemployed politicians to tell the young minds or young generation the difference between wrong or right.

If at all these politicians need to set an example for the students, they should first vacate their position from the high pedestal and earn a living just like the common man does and not rely on tax payers money to keep their hearth burning.

Conclusively we know our fundamental rights, our duties and responsibilities. And while all of us are accountable to the laws of the land, it is the politicians who are not or think they are above the law.

Transfer of Goa cases to Delhi NGT – an affront to justice – By Jose Maria Miranda

The decision of the MOEF to shift Goa cases from National Green Tribunal in Pune to Delhi has rubbed salt into the wounds of green activists in Goa, already exasperated with several cases they had to file in NGT. The irony is that, though bound to protect the beauty and environment of the State and the health and livelihood of its people, both the Central and State Governments themselves shamelessly are  trying to destroy them, sometimes in league with their associates like Adanis and Jindals.

So unfair and arbitrary was this decision of placing Goa, a Western State, under Delhi – with even Gujarat, closer to the national capital, continuing under Pune - that the Honourable Judges Nutan Sardesai and G. S. Patel, very commendably felt the need to take suo motu cognizance of this blatantly irrational and mischievous attempt of the Ministry of Environment and Forests to trouble and deprive justice to Goa’s selfless and dedicated activists. Justice Patel, who has very recently joined Goa Bench, is associated with many PILs on environmental issues and was the recipient of International Fellowship in Environmental Law in California.

With Goa, the smallest State, among two other giants, accounting for over 40% of cases under NGT Pune, it defies logic and common sense –obviously with our Governments having neither - to target Goa alone. The number of cases decided against the Government and still pending, is a tribute to Goans’ spiritedness but also a clear demonstration of how irresponsible the Government is in flouting environmental rules. However, undaunted by the thrashings it received from NGT, Pune or rather apprehensive of further setbacks to their autocratic behaviour, the shameless MOEF has now gone to the point of attempting derailment of justice and keeping it out of  people’s reach.

Among the many defeats the Government suffered at NGT Pune are the MOEF Circular dispensing with public hearing for MPT projects, which brought about the massive opposition to coal handling, the illegal dredging at Mormugao Harbour pompously inaugurated by the infamous Nitin Gadkari. The construction of a tower – cum restaurant in Colva in no development area, the Sernabatim road construction by cutting a sand dune, the development of Chapora Jetty, the Golf Course at Tiracol and several other violations of CRZ regulations at various places that it would be long to enumerate.

The discomfort of BJP Government with NGTs are on record, as the latter have been a thorn in their flesh, with several rulings going against the arbitrary and highly suspect decisions of these Governments, which, true to their national manifesto, had bluntly assured that “industrial growth would take precedence over environment protection”.

In New York, Prakash Jawadekar, then Minister of Environment & Forests, had stated that the focus of his government, was “lifting India’s masses above poverty through encouraging economic growth and not protecting environment”. The Environment Ministry, appointed in 2014 a high level Committee which recommended curtailing the powers of NGT. Anticipating public outcry, the government chose an indirect way of diluting NGT powers through the Finance Act 2017. It lowered the qualifications needed for appointment of Chairperson and members of NGT. Noted environmental lawyer, Ritwick Dutta commenting on the issue said: “The new qualifications have serious consequences and huge implications on the quality of leadership as well as independence of the NGT” adding that qualifications to become an expert or judicial member at NGT are also diluted, while giving greater bureaucratic control over the selection procedure. “Once the new rules are implemented, the NGT will be manned by people who neither are qualified nor possess the experience, training, vision and outlook to deal with complex environmental problems. In addition to the above handicap, the members of the NGT will not have the administrative as well as functional autonomy and will be ‘under’ the control of the very (Union Environment) Ministry whose decisions they are required to adjudicate upon. Public confidence is bound to be low on such an Institution,” Dutta stated. The term of office of a member which is 5 years is reduced to 3 years, despite SC direction that a five year term is required for members of the Tribunal. Other diluted provisions relate to salary and allowances of expert and judicial members of NGT, their removal from office and sanction of leave. These provisions are “draconian”, another SC lawyer commented.

It may be recalled that Manohar Parrikar had stated in Goa Assembly that   "NGT was stepping out of its jurisdiction and acting like a high court", that he could not afford to send his officers to NGT to attend the proceedings and requested the then MOEF, Jawadekar to streamline the Tribunal’s functioning. While dismissing the contempt petition filed against the CM, NGT, Pune, had, however passed strictures, saying: “The respondent should have chosen his words carefully in public speeches… have acted like a statesman and not as a popular leader since his position was that of a chief minister — the most important post in the state. We need not add anything further, so as to put a word of advice in this context, as we are hopeful that the respondent will take caution in future before criticizing any other pillar of the democracy,"  Parrikar had also called the NGT Pune ban on sand mining a case of “judicial overreach”.

It therefore seems certain that the highly ridiculous decision of transferring Goa cases to Delhi NGT was taken if not in connivance, at least with the consent of Goa Government and Goans irrespective of Party affiliation must take a serious note of this and join the fight against this gross injustice.