Goa, March 16 -- Water is all around Goa. It would seem that every Goan child grows up learning how to swim. Sadly, that is not the case. It is a life skill which could be of great help to the child. It is not taught in school and the knowledge of swimming among the young is not very high. However, there is one school in Goa where students are required to learn how to swim. Shiksha Niketan School in Porvorim has a programme where every student in the school has to swim across the Mandovi river. They, of course, will be trained by the school. This Sunday, students as young as 7 years will be swimming from the Reis Magos beach to the Panjim Football Ground, Campal-Panjim.

For the parents, the coaches and the officials involved it is a matt...