Dimapur, Sep. 22 (EMN): Citing financial burden, private colleges in Nagaland are pushing for inclusion in the Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (Rusa) scheme.
Rusa is a centrally sponsored scheme launched in 2013, which aims to provide strategic funding to eligible state higher educational institutions.
The Private College Association Nagaland (PCAN) issued a statement on Sunday informing about a meeting between its executive body and Minister of Higher and Technical Education and Tribal Affairs Temjen Imna Along on September 20 where they pushed for inclusion in Rusa scheme.
“The association stated that all the neighbouring states of Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, etc., include private colleges under Rusa which has sped up their development making our state’s educational institutes struggle to match them.
“PCAN stated that there should not be differentiations between government and private colleges, as private colleges play a role similar to government colleges without a direct salary burden on our state. Private colleges provide both employment, avenues for consumer consumption and support the majority of the students in our state. However, private institutes in Nagaland are hampered because many of the institutes do not have access to adequate financial resources like loans and grants for expansion nor are the institutes able to charge fees that reflect the true cost of higher education,” read the statement.
The association also assured to collaborate with the department and strengthen Higher Education to make Nagaland an education hub, it stated.
The minister, according to the association, was minded to include eligible private colleges under Rusa.
