Meghalaya Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) secretary Manuel Badwar wants to see a vigorous debate on the education scenario in the state Assembly’ Autumn session that will start tomorrow.
“I think even our Chief Minister has said that there is a big requirement of around Rs 400 crore to implement the NEP (National Education Policy),” Badwar told Highland Post in reference to a speech made by the CM yesterday. “If the Chief Minister says that education is the most important sector in our state, then please cough up the Rs 400 or Rs 500 crore that is required to build better infrastructure to ensure that the NEP is implemented in a proper way.”
The Congressman derided the way the NEP is being implemented in the country, calling it horrendous, though he thinks the policy itself is sound.
“I think the NEP has to be debated well in our state because we don’t have any other option as we have only NEHU (as a university) and whether you are a Chief Minister or Education Minister, you have to go through this properly,” he stressed.
Badwar also slammed the Education Minister, Rakkam A Sangma, for making “loose” comments, namely that students who continue to graduate from a three-year undergraduate course will have to study for an additional year in order to be allowed to take up a master’s degree.
“I want the Education Minister to first read everything thoroughly and understand before making statements like that,” Badwar said. “As an educationist, as an Education Minister, I think it’s very critical for him to understand and I think that it is very critical to discuss this issue in this session.”