CANACONA AND MIGRATION

It is found that the bulk of families from rural areas of Canacona taluka, along with their children migrate from here to cities like Margao, Vasco, Ponda and Panaji in the hope of securing admissions in city schools.

While the Government of Goa claims that it is providing the best of education in rural areas, parents migrate and don’t mind the expense of high fees as they claim that their wards can get a better education here. After some study on this issue, it has been discovered that for the last 8-10 years, the cities of Margao, Vasco, Ponda and Panaji have a considerable number of children from Canacona taluka receiving the so-called better education.

Though detailed facts and figures of student migration from each village in Canacona taluka is not available, rough estimates suggest that most are from Loliem Maxem, and Agonda areas; on the whole they constitute about 7-10 per cent of the total population of Canacona.

In the course of a short survey, NT learned that a sizeable number of parents do not look into the type of education their children would receive, but the repute and the fame these schools possess.
Most parents also agree that it is the availability of tuition and tutors that make them migrate.

Ms Nalita Gracias, a teacher, who migrated to Margao feels that it is professionalism and glamour that attracts people to cities as this is missing in rural areas. Also other facilities like coaching classes and other co-curricular activities/facilities like music, sports etc are mostly available in cities rather than in villages.

Ms Nalita says that she moved to the city because she wants her two sons to get the best of education, which to some extent is not available in Canacona. "When you give your children access to well-developed schools, you can identify their talents properly and channelise them in right direction," she said.

She also agrees that when a person moves from a rural area to urban and developed cities, initially it is quite tough to adjust.

"Most migrants are between the ages of 25-35 years. It is this age group that wants to enhance their economic status and enjoy a life-style which they feel is not offered to them in the village," feels yet another parent who wishes to remain anonymous.

While most of the families are today aware of quality education, they do not mind spending and moving off to far away places. However, in the course of time urban areas will definitely feel the crunch of natural resources and as such many people will be forced to return back to their village, said Mr Prabhu Gaonkar, a resident of Canacona.
He says that he has migrated for a short time and will surely return back to his village as he has ancestral property there.

Educationists from Canacona say that the thought of attending schools far away is not a contributing factor. Schools today are located in close proximity. Besides, the government has been focusing for the last 5 years, on creating the best of infrastructure to basic schools including the provision of electricity, water connection, toilet facilities etc, feels SSA coordinator, Mr Kamlakar Mhalshi, and further adds that all this should be implemented immediately if out-migration must stop.

When asked if the government needs to do something in this regard, the answer is a vehement yes. There are really good avenues for developing the infrastructure needed for the children, but the government has to be very positive in its role and implementation and the same must be done on priority.

In the compound of the SSA at Nagorcem-Canacona, there is enough space for creating infrastructure. All that needs to be done is for the government to apply its mind. The government has already acquired land in front of St Theresa of Jesus High School at Chauri for sports facilities. It may be recalled this very land was acquired when Mr Sanjay Bandekar was the Sports Minister, but this too has been lying vacant for quite some time.

Ms Michelle Vaz, a school teacher from Margao, presently teaching in a high school here, feels that in the name of migration, the void created may be filled in by migrants from other states.

While it is true that better educational facilities, better shopping and marketing facilities etc are readily available in cities, the fact remains that if the same is created here, the per cent of people migrating will definitely minimise and people would prefer staying in their ancestral homes.

Dr F M Nadaf, a senior geographer of Shri Mallikarjun College of Arts and Commerce, Canacona, in his in-depth study on migration feels that migration is a universal phenomena and Canacona is no exception.

Canacona experiences both in-migration and out-migration. Migration takes place due to pull and push factors. Pull factors are responsible for in-migration and push factors are responsible for out-migration. Kankonkars have been migrating to other parts of Goa for various push factors. Some of the push factors that force Kankonkars to migrate are are poor educational facilities, lack of basic necessities like drinking water, electricity, health and connectivity, kidney problems, no jobs, industrial backwardness, overall economic neglect, and poor political will.
For the last half a century, Canacona has remained the most neglected taluka of Goa.

The state of Goa boasts that some of its socio-economic indicators are at par with some of the developed nations of the world. But the reality in Canacona is totally different. There are many remote areas of the taluka like Cotigao and Gaondongrem where people are forced to walk a long distance to go to the nearest bus stop. No motorable roads, poor health care facilities, no tap water, no sewerage lines and above all not a single day goes by without uninterrupted power supply.

It is evident from the historical records that once Canacona was a learning centre even during Portuguese regime. People from Margao, Quepem, Karwar and other neighboring places used to travel to Canacona for taking high quality education. But the quality of education has degraded and has forced many to migrate.

Kidney problems are another factor that forces the people of Canacona to move out. It is reported that about 80 per cent of the kidney patients admitted in GMC are from Canacona.

Keeping this in mind, the government started a Kidney Treatment Centre but it suffers from basic infrastructure. The present industrial estate has become ‘ghost-town’ due to lack of basic facilities.

In last one and a half decade, Shree Mallikarjun College has brought a big transformation in the field of higher education. About 1000 students have graduated from this college especially from the backward sections of the society. To these educated youths, tourism has become a livelihood.

Of late, tourism has arrested the out-migration of educated youths to a certain extent, but what Canacona needs today is political will to develop that which is lacking.