UDP general secretary Jemino Mawthoh who is also an Associate Professor in the North-Eastern Hill University (NEHU) today said that the proposed creation of the State university in Tura involves a lot of expenditures and infrastructure and therefore, the issue of affiliation of colleges to the State university needs to be thought of carefully.
It may be mentioned that the Meghalaya government plans to initiate the process of shifting affiliations of all government and government-aided colleges from the NEHU to the Captain Williamson Sangma State University once it becomes functional. The State government has submitted an application to the University Grants Commission (UGC) seeking recognition for the State university through a 2(f) notification in order to enable the university to issue degrees and receive funding.
Stating that the creation of State university is a welcome step and a positive move, Mawthoh said that appropriate operationalisation needs proper detailing to make it fully functional.
“The State university has gone through the legislative process in having the Act, but academic and administrative set-up and infrastructure must be in place. Broad guidelines are needed. Ordinances, rules, and regulations have to be in place,” he said.
He also said that permission and attachment are not the only issues surrounding affiliation. It also involves meeting certain prerequisites and requirements.
“Is it possible for the State university to establish different disciplines within the Arts, Science, and Commerce streams at this juncture? The creation of distinct departments within each stream ought to align with the offerings of the colleges. Colleges cannot be partially affiliated and cannot have dual affiliation,” Mawthoh said.
According to him, financial ramifications will also arise from affiliation. “To establish different departments, adequate faculty members and infrastructure is needed. UGC scale for teachers will be encouraging in terms of performance. Besides, how are the academic and official bodies going to be constituted? What about the conduct of the examination right from syllabus preparation, paper setting, moderation, and evaluation? What about library access?” he asked.
“In addition, there is the concern of accessibility. Compared to Garo Hills, Khasi and Jaintia Hills have more colleges. These are some pertinent questions that come to mind,” Mawthoh further said.
He also said that the State Education Department had stated that the first Academic session is to start from 2025-26 and a Board of Governors has been constituted.
“Already 100 posts including vice chancellor and registrar have been sanctioned and Rs 45 crore will cost the State government annually. The financial implication for this is Rs 45.7 crore annually and the total cost of construction of infrastructure for the university is Rs 16.96 crore. The running cost will also be substantial. Therefore, the issue of affiliation of colleges to the State university needs to be thought of carefully,” Mawthoh said.
