Shillong, July 26: The state government has written to the North Eastern Hill University (NEHU) conveying that many colleges in the state are not ready to implement the new national education policy (NEP) within this academic year.
Education Minister Rakkam Sangma told reporters on Wednesday after a meeting with the delegation of the NEHU Students’ Union that the government had received letters from 43 colleges out of which 33 colleges have expressed that they are not ready to implement the NEP this year. In view of this, the state government had written to the NEHU vice chancellor three times on May 17, June 27 and July 25.
“We have communicated to the NEHU that our institutions are not ready to implement NEP during this academic session and that most of the institutions are requesting to defer implementation to the next academic session,” he said.
He said prominent colleges in the state have decided to implement the new NEP from this academic year.
The minister said a series of meetings were held with the NEHU authorities on the matter. Rakkam said at his level, such meetings were held twice and the last meeting was held on July 4, at the chamber of the chief secretary DP Wahlang.
NEHU agrees to hybrid mode
The NEHU has agreed to implement the new NEP in a hybrid mode.
“We have told the VC of NEHU to discuss with the heads of all institutions and after this discussion, the University has come up with this idea and told the state government that there is a provision for hybrid mode. This would mean that any institution, which wants to go ahead with NEP implementation, can do so and those, who are not ready, can defer the implementation till the next academic year,” Rakkam said.
The minister said if the institutions in the state do not start NEP implementation within this academic year, students who aspire to go for further studies, will not be acceptable to take admission in other states of the country.
NEHUSU not ready from August
NEHUSU leader Mandor Diengdoh Swer said that the Union is not against the NEP but implementing the same within this August, will only be detrimental to the students.
“We are for implementing the NEP as there are lots of merits or advantages in the NEP but the thing is that students will face hardship if we implement it now in August, since students had already taken admissions in different courses and admission is also over and some of the institutions have already started with the classes,” he said.
According to Swer, the students would be subjected to pay additional fees.
Criticising the style of functioning of the NEHU VC, Swer said, “His VC action proves that he is working not for the welfare of students but for the welfare of people in power in Delhi. So he is using NEHU as a platform for himself. As NEHUSU we stand against that.”
He also warned that If the VC keeps acting in this way ‘we might demand for removal of this present VC and ensure a local VC is appointed’
He alleged that the VC had decided to implement the NEP on his own when the Academic Council which had met on May 19, to discuss the NEP had not taken any decision to implement the new policy.
“There have been suggestions to implement it by 2024-25 but the problem is that the VC wants to implement it now,” he said.
