Goa Forward Party President Vijai Sardesai met with student’s representatives from various colleges across Goa and listened to the concerns of final year students who are requesting their exams to be conducted online. Sardesai assured the students his support and highlighted he will do his very best to prioritize their final exams could possibly be held online as an viable and feasible option to keep students, teachers and families across Goa safe and secure.
In the meeting with the students, Sardesai pointed out that his team would look to review the 160 page verdict of the Supreme Court over final exams which noted that “States are empowered under the Disaster Management Act to override University Grants Commission (UGC) exam guidelines in order to protect human lives amid the COVID-19 pandemic.” Sardesai said that Goa’s R-rate or COVID-19 positivity rate is currently at 5.29% which poses immense risk to the students and their families – and is not the right conditions to hold offline exams. He questioned the government’s priorities in regard to safeguarding the lives of Goa’s children in response to the Supreme Court verdict.
The Goa Forward party president made note that due to the recent Zilla Panchayat elections and upcoming festive season , Goa is likely to see an expected spike in new COVID-19 cases. Sardesai said that “we could see numerous reports of people being infected as a result of the elections, which puts students in high risk should they take the exam during the first week of January.” Vijai also mentioned that due to eased restrictions and lack of social distancing and protocols over the festive season, students risk being vulnerable to new infections as a result of offline exams in a restricted and limited space.”
Sardesai further said that the Goa State Disaster Management Authority, and the government did not hold any public consultations with student bodies over the examination process, nor reasonably explain or outline its intentions. “The government simply jumped to the conclusion that it is safe to hold offline exams.” The Goa Forward Party President said that the government is still not conducting COVID-19 tests across the state at an optimum level and is driving a false narrative that “Goa is a green zone and is safe.”
In the meeting, Sardesai paid close attention to the students concerns of answering their exams in confidence as they continue to worry about the looming health risk they face which could jeopardize their examination results. Sardesai said, “while you (students) look to achieve your desired grades, the government is failing you, risking not only your health, but also the opportunity for you to excel in the future.” Sardesai said that “like the ongoing issues in Mollem over double tracking, the students and youth of Goa are facing a massive injustice, while no-one seems to be stepping up to even listen to them.”
The student community of Goa have looked to Vijai Sardesai as representation for their request following his support to all students across Goa over short videos through the social media platform Instagram. Sardesai in the video message to the students pointed out that “the Chief Minister Pramod Sawant cannot hold an assembly session in Goa but wants students to answer their exams offline.” Sardesai further highlighted that due to the lack of policy and consideration of the Chief Minister, over 700 people have died in Goa due to COVID-19.”
In the videos, Vijai Sardesai also mentioned that he had spoken to the registrar of Goa University and urged them to hold online exams at any costs. Sardesai lambasted at the government for lacking the common sense given that Goa’s COVID-19 positivity rate hovers above 5%. Over Twitter, Sardesai said that “the positivity rate in Goa is over 5%. Most places around the world are not allowing schools to resume unless the rate goes down below 1.3%”
Students across Goa have eagerly embraced the support from Vijai Sardesai and reacted their enthusiasm towards the Goa Forward chief over social media. Further over student representatives called on the Goa Forward President to voice their concerns over the risk of offline exams they face.
The GFP chief said that Pramod Sawant and his government are “insensitive and inconsiderate towards Goa, its people and its children,” highlighting that the government is promoting a “future of surrender” for all Goans. Sardesai through the #SaveGoaNow campaign called on the students to unite and be brave in their voice over all issues from education, health, and the environment.