Panaji: The idea is simple. Marriage may begin with two people tying the knot, but making it last requires knowing oneself — and the person standing by their side — long before the big day. Goa College of Home Science hopes to get young people asking if they are mature enough to forgive, compromise, and weather rough patches, with an open certificate course on marriage preparedness from Dec, against a backdrop of rising marital breakdowns and relationship troubles in the state.The initiative came as CM Pramod Sawant announced plans to introduce pre-marriage counselling across Goa. Earlier this week, he attributed rising divorces to couples in “love marriages” failing to understand each other well enough before tying the knot.The need is underscored by figures from the law department: more than 3,000 marriage and divorce-related petitions were filed in Goa’s civil courts between 2022 and 2025, including 947 in 2024 alone.“We are seeing a lot of marital breakdowns in society, and we also hear stories from our own students about the kind of families they come from,” said Nadisha Coelho, assistant professor at the college.
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The college’s department of human development and family studies took its classroom experience to the public for the first time through an open certificate course. It had been teaching the subject to its students since 2007. The course was aimed particularly at college students and young adults, giving them a chance to think through relationships before wedding preparations took over.“Marriage preparation often happens too close to the wedding, when couples are caught up in the excitement and may overlook important conversations. It is imperative to establish one’s identity before entering into intimacy,” Coelho said.Rather than offering a crash course in wedding planning, the programme would focus on something more fundamental: whether participants were ready for marriage at all, and whether they possessed the emotional maturity to sustain a long-term relationship. “Maturity is beyond age. Your age might be right, but you may not be mature enough,” Coelho said.Lessons would blend theory with practical exercises, including personality assessments and self-reflection. Participants would examine their interpersonal skills, capacity to forgive, personal strengths and shortcomings — taking stock of themselves before taking vows.
