The establishment of Captain Williamson Sangma State University, Tura is a welcoming step; yet it cannot be overambitious in the immediate future and needs to be cautious. Meghalaya with a dubious distinction of being a State with financial crunch perennially, combined with misplaced priorities, have to tread very cautiously since a university’s annual expenditure can range anywhere between 50 to few hundred crore rupees annually.
Understandably, there are deep concerns on maintainability and sustainability of the university under the State government. It can start with a few departments and should not think of affiliating colleges for at least ten years and allow it to settle down and shape up. May be the newly set up Education Commission of Meghalaya can play an important role in stabilising it over the years. The options should be given to colleges where they want to affiliate eventually.
It will be very unfortunate to see colleges moving away from North Eastern Hill University (NEHU), a 51 years old first Central university of the North-East region, to a newly set up State university which is yet to be tested. We don’t have to go far. Let’s have a look at the model Assam has adopted and improvise upon it. Assam has two Central universities and 19 State universities. In this regard, the Meghalaya College Teachers’ Association (MCTA), the Principal’s Council and civil societies will also have to play a vital role.
The new university will require a vice chancellor with clear vision, compassion, dedication and knowledge with academic and professional leadership and one who does not possess a primary school mentality. Of course, the same is expected from vice chancellors of every university. In the next ten years or so, the new State university should stabilise itself for a steady growth by creating infrastructures, recruiting faculty and non-teaching staff, initiating courses and designing curriculum based on the need and aspiration of the people of Meghalaya.
The entire university should be digitalised so that all transactions can be done online-right from obtaining forms to payment of fees, obtaining mark sheets, certificates, etc without the need to visit the campus which will be a great service to people living in far-flung areas, particularly those from the lower income groups. Once the university becomes well-established and tested then it can think of affiliating colleges under it. As the saying goes-haste makes waste.
It is natural that there will be some competition between NEHU and Williamson Sangma State University but it should be complementing each other rather than competing against each other in the larger interest of the State of Meghalaya. Say, for example, start new courses that are relevant in current times with good job prospects which NEHU does not offer or create expertise required for the economic growth of Meghalaya through well-designed programmes.
In this regard, NEHU too has to pull its socks up. It has earned its brand name through rigorous and dedicated efforts of the former vice chancellors, faculty members, students and non-teaching staff since inception but the brand is fast degrading in the last 10-12 years. It has to behave more rationally while dealing with the affiliated colleges.
NEHU has to act as a big brother and handhold and treat them as partners in pursuit of academic goals and excellence. It cannot afford to act as the boss of these colleges and force anything on them against their will. It cannot afford to forget that it doesn’t own them and as a university they are affiliated to, NEHU needs to provide the academic mentorship and quality control with mutual respect.
The recent debacle in CUET centres in NEHU is the only reason for exemption of the CUET in Meghalaya for admission to undergraduate programmes and this doesn’t speak well about an experienced university which has stood the test of time over several decades. Similarly, the hasty and haphazard implementation of NEP2020 in undergraduate level without assessing the ground reality and preparedness is another cause of concern among the general public and teaching fraternity alike.
If NEHU doesn’t learn from its mistakes and keeps repeating one after another over a short period of time, then it is bound to drive the colleges, students and the general public away from it. Everything’s not lost yet and NEHU can regain its brand name provided there is a will for a recovery and the vice chancellor has to show the way through immediate corrective actions.
(The writer is the president of NEHU Teachers’ Association)
