Sandesh Raghoba Gaonkar recently completed his M.Ed. at the age of 71, demonstrating that there are no limits when it comes to learning

KALYANI JHA | NT KURIOCITY

Retirement or age posed no barrier to Canacona-based Sandesh Raghoba Gaonkar’s passion for the academic field, evidenced by the fact that he secured special permission from the National Council of Education, Delhi, and the Goa University Chancellor to study for an M.Ed. at the age of 69, two years ago.

Gaonkar recently passed his M.Ed. through Dr. Dada Vaidya College of Education, Farmagudi, Ponda, with 68.95% in the examination held by Goa University in April 2024. He secured sixth rank on the merit list. The topic of his dissertation was ‘The Status of Inclusive Education in the State of Goa’, in which he achieved 74% marks.

“My objective to do an M.Ed. at this age was to achieve excellence in teaching. I have learned many things in this course. I learned about NEP and different policies in detail that have changed since I did my B.Ed. in 1980,” he shares, while crediting his recent success to the teachers of the institution—principal Dr. Jojen Mathew, professor Sanjayan T.S., professor Ashish Ashok Naik, professor Arpita Dandin, and professor Shivangi Shirodkar. “My teachers used to call me ‘Sir’ sometimes because I was the oldest in the batch of 30, as well among the teachers,” he says.

During his recent student tenure, he also won two academic prizes—for 100% attendance and for reading the maximum number of books in the library. “I read 356 books in the library within one year,” he says.

Gaonkar has been a teacher since 1974 and has taught in higher secondary schools and colleges. He has been felicitated by different institutions for his excellence in teaching at the regional, state, and national levels. He retired in April 2013 from Rosary Higher Secondary School, Navelim but continued teaching Business Law to B.Com students in government colleges of Goa for five years after that. Incidentally, Gaonkar also did his LLM after retirement, in which he secured 58% marks.

 

 “Some teachers don’t teach because they like teaching but because they get a salary. That should not be the case. Qualitative education is a continuous process and it involves students as well as the teachers and parents or guardians. By correlating all these parameters, the quality of education can be improved.”

 

 “Learning is a lifetime work. From womb to tomb you learn. It could be academic or unacademic. Every experience is a learning.”