Shillong, April 2: The state government is exploring a fee revision in government colleges to reduce their dependence on official grants.
This will allow the colleges to fund routine activities from their own revenues.
Education Minister Lahkmen Rymbui carried out the review of education department in this regard on Thursday.
Speaking to reporters, Rymbui said that the government college fees remain lower than those in deficit or private institutions.
“We cannot deny the fact that the fees in government colleges are very less compared to people’s colleges or deficit colleges,” he said.
Under the proposed model, colleges would raise fees modestly—by 10–15 percent—with the additional portion payable once students receive post-matric scholarships.
“Suppose a college collects Rs 11,000 or Rs 12,000 now; let us make it Rs18,000– Rs19,000. The student pays what they can now, and the rest after the scholarship comes,” Rymbui said.
He cited Kiang Nangbah Government College as an example and said “Rs 8,000 increase per student across 3,000 enrolments would generate about Rs 2.4 crore annually”.
“With this fund, the college will not come to us to sanction money for college week, excursions, or appointment of new teachers,” he said.
The minister said that the change would not burden students because the post-matric scholarship reimburses tuition directly to colleges—not to students’ pockets.
“This will not put a burden on the student because the government will reimburse,” he said.
He compared the government colleges with institutions such as St Edmund’s and St Anthony’s, where higher fees are balanced by larger scholarship flows.
To ensure transparency, Rymbui said each college must form a committee with faculty and student representatives to oversee the use of collected fees.
“Whatever they use, they should use it for the betterment of education,” he said.
He also urged colleges to secure UGC 12B and 2F recognition and pursue accreditation, saying self-assessment helps government target support.
“Before it was NAAC, now the new body will come, but they have to do it because this self-assessment is very important,” he said.
Regarding the schools, Rymbui directed officials to mandate two parent-teacher meetings a year in government schools—at mid-year results and ahead of final exams—to build community oversight.
“Government schools are like nobody’s taken care of. We want at least during result days, there should be a parent-teachers meeting… so there will be a sense of belonging and ownership,” he said.
Rymbui cautioned that some proposals could be implemented immediately while others require consultations.
