The Office of the Goa State Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities, in coordination with the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, conducted a sensitisation and awareness session on 22nd December 2025 at the Conference Hall, Office of the State Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities at Porvorim.
The objective of the initiative was promoting and encouraging persons with disabilities in Goa to enroll in various academic programmes offered by the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU).
The session was addressed by Dr. Srinivas, Director, and Dr. Shashi Kumar, Deputy Director, IGNOU Regional Centre, Panaji, who served as the resource persons. The dignitaries present on the occasion included Guruprasad Pawaskar, State Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities, Varsha Naik, Director, Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, and Taha Haaziq, Secretary, Office of the State Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities.
The programme was conducted in hybrid mode, both online and offline, and was efficiently coordinated by Mahadev D. Sawant. The initiative aimed at empowering persons with various disabilities to pursue higher education, particularly those who could not access regular schooling due to disability-related, financial, or physical constraints.
Josephina Fernandes rendered her services as a Sign Language Interpreter, ensuring effective communication and accessibility throughout the session.
In his address, Pawaskar appreciated the willingness to familiarise persons with disabilities with the wide range of higher education opportunities available through IGNOU. He encouraged the participants to pursue higher studies and motivated them to aspire for the highest positions in Government services.
Varsha Naik briefed the participants on the availability of scholarships and other financial benefits provided by the Government for persons with disabilities pursuing higher education.
Dr. Srinivas, Director, IGNOU, Regional Centre, Panaji, Goa, emphasised that education can be pursued at any age and specifically urged young persons with disabilities to enroll in courses aimed at qualifying for senior Government posts, many of which remain vacant despite the provision of 4% reservation, owing to the non-availability of eligible candidates. Dr. Srinivas assured full support to all persons with disabilities and extended his assistance to aspiring students in their academic pursuits.
Further, Dr. Srinivas emphasised the need to conduct such awareness sessions specific to different categories of disabilities. The Hon’ble State Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities agreed to organise such disability-specific sessions in the coming days.
During the interactive session, the dignitaries and resource persons addressed the queries raised by the participants and provided detailed clarifications on admission procedures, course options, academic support systems, scholarships and other related concerns.
The participants who attended the session in offline mode included Prasad Panderphale, Rama Parsekar, Gajanan Velip, Sajosh K.S., Resha Vernekar, Pooja Mali, Priyanka Mali, Tapshi Naik, Jamila Haaziq, Mahananda Satarkar, Mithin Gaonkar, Vishant Nagvekar, Patrick D’Souza, Akshay and Mahadev Sawant.
The participants who joined the session in online mode were Gopal Naik, Niklesh Pednekar, Sayad Mohsin A. Mauli, Ritesh Vaigankar, Sameer Halarnkar, and Prasad Joshi.
The programme concluded with a vote of thanks proposed by Taha Haaziq, who expressed his gratitude to all the dignitaries and participants, with special thanks to the officials of IGNOU Regional Centre, Panaji, for their valuable guidance and support.
