Centre approves engineering, multi-professional colleges for Nagaland

Our Correspondent

Kohima, Oct. 1 (EMN): In a major boost to Nagaland’s higher education sector, the government of India has approved proposals for setting up of two colleges for advanced studies – an engineering college and a multi-professional college (law, management and music technology) in the state.

This was informed by the minister for Higher and Technical Education Temjen Imna Along. It was learnt that the Centre had given the nod to the engineering college in early September while the approval for the multi-professional college was announced when a team from the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) visited the state for a review meeting for implementation of the Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA) in Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram on September 27.

A statement from the minister’s office stated that the MHRD team led by the joint secretary (Higher Education) MHRD and National Mission Director (NMD) RUSA, Ishita Roy while appreciating Nagaland for successful implementation of the first phase of RUSA, encouraged the state government to introduce multi-disciplinary subjects to cater to the needs to the students. She also stated to have appreciated the efforts and the interest shown by minister Along in leading the department to ‘a higher level’. She observed him as a ‘young minister who wants nothing but the best for his state when it comes to development in Higher Education sector’.

The NMD-RUSA also interacted with the principals of 15 government colleges to understand the difficulties, challenges and issues faced by the colleges for NAAC accreditation. Reminding that accreditation by NAAC was a parameter mandated by UGC, the ministry official underscored the need for higher education institutions to join the accreditation bandwagon.

In his speech during the meeting, minister Along was said to have made an earnest appeal to the three Northeast states of Nagaland, Mizoram and Manipur not to allow the difficulties, situations, traditions or distances undermine the human strength. He highlighted the need to build the people/the human resource and felt if that was not there, no amount of money that comes from RUSA, MHRD would be able to ‘heal our wound’.

The minister, while thanking the MHRD for granting the second multi-professional college to the Nagaland under the second phase of RUSA, also shared his vision of making Nagaland an educational hub by upgrading the existing colleges, providing the required facilities and by establishing more professional colleges where more courses can be offered.