Translator's post could not be filled in LS due to dearth of qualified talent: Goa CM

Panaji, March 12 (IANS) Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Tuesday said that there is a dearth of translators in the coastal state and hence the government could not fill the post of ‘translator’ in Lok Sabha despite it being a highly paid job.

“Many learn Konkani (the official language) and yes one should learn it. But we don’t have a single translator who can translate from English, Hindi to Konkani or vice versa. We want translators who can do this job,” Sawant said was speaking after inaugurating a girls' hostel of a government college in Sanquelim, North Goa.

“I have a question when students pursue BA, MA and PhD in Konkani language, why don’t we find translators? We wanted a translator in Lok Sabha, but we could not get a single person for that job. I feel sad over the issue,” Sawant said.

Sawant said that students while pursuing education in such streams should acquire a caliber of translation.

“We should not pursue education only for the sake of degrees, but it should be brought into practical use. Degrees will not resolve such problems,” he said.

He said that teachers should take the initiative to help their students build their careers. “If this thing happens then there will be no unemployment. Everyone can get employment,” he said.

He said that students should take advantage of the ‘Dual degree or certificate course’ introduced by the government, wherein one can study any course while pursuing traditional education.

“Traditional education like BA, B.Com B.Sc… we should not be limited only to that, but along with that we should pursue career-oriented education,” Sawant said.

He also said that while solar energy projects are getting a boost, one should also think about becoming solar-technicians.

“Many times we require sir condition consultants but despite having many engineers there are only two AC consultants in the state. We need to think out of the box. Nobody is doing it. You may have vivid passions, but go one step ahead and see in which stream there is demand. Teachers need to show the way to the students and encourage them to think out of the box,” Sawant said.

He said that there is a requirement of 2 lakh staff in the hospitality, aviation and tourism sectors.