Goa Panji - We don’t need no higher education

Toi News PANAJI: Mining may have brought in a new-found affluence in the rural villages of Goa, but the ills of prosperity, hitherto unknown to rural Goa abound in the mining belt. Alcoholism tops the list of social ills pervading in the villages that have been battered by mining, followed by a high drop-out rate in schools, social analysts observed. 

Avdhut Prabhudesai, a medical practitioner from Colomb, a tiny village lying in the mining belt in Sanguem taluka, voiced his concern over many young people from his village dying of alcoholism. "It's a pity to see so many young widows in my village. A large number of youth from this mining belt have turned alcoholics. The saddest part is that they are dying in the prime of their lives. And the irony lies in the fact that consuming liquor was a taboo in the families of these youth who have now got addicted to liquor. The pub culture, which was once alien to the village, is now a given," Prabhudessai frowns. 

Now, if that sounds like an old hat, see what the in-thing is in a mining-ravaged village. "Had anyone heard about a discotheque in remote areas of Quepem? Well, discotheques are now being often held in a resort here and are mostly frequented by local youth having deep pockets. It's obvious that mining has largely contributed to this disposable money," says Sanjay Dessai, associate professor at Shree Damodar College of Commerce and Economics, Margao. Sources said that a nightlife culture is beginning to gain ground in the village and villagers are already worried over the accompanying social ills. 

The easy availability of jobs as cleaners and drivers on mining trucks with attractive salaries and perks without any bar on education, has led to high drop-out rates among the student community along the mining belt, Prabudesai says. 

Environmentalist Ramesh Gawas who is also a teacher and a member of the state integrated education council that advises the government on the state education policy conducted his own study in 2006 on enrollments to higher secondary in the mining belt. 

"In Sanguem, only 6% children who had enrolled at the primary level had continued with higher education, in Quepem and Sattari the figures stood at 7% each, and in Bicholim it was 22%," says Gawas. "It's a new culture where children in the mining belt want to quit studies to enter the truck business as it offers guaranteed earning prospects," adds Gawas. 

One need not be involved in direct mining activities to rake up the money. One is paid for silence too. People staying along the routes of transportation are well pampered by the mining companies, lest they raise a voice of protest. Cash and gifts are doled out to the people residing in the mining areas in good measure. Besides, "demands" for sponsorship of sports tournaments and supply of sports kits are willingly obliged, as also requests for donations towards poojas and festival celebrations which are held quite regularly. 

Village leaders get expensive gifts, ostensibly as a trade-off for their support. Social analysts say this kills all interest in studies among the village youth in the mining belt. 

Concurs Dessai, "When parents themselves get easy and more money if they take to mining jobs how can they be expected to instill a sense of interest in education in their children? With agriculture being virtually destroyed and no alternative employment opportunities, the youth find themselves caught in the mining web. It requires a high level of motivation for one to come out of this trap and pursue education. We will be failing in our duties if we do not provide this motivation to the younger generation."