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DIMAPUR — The Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in higher education institutions in Nagaland currently stands at 18.8%, informed Director of Higher Education department, A Nshoga, on Monday.
Addressing the inaugural programme of a 5-day workshop on “Leadership development” for college principals of Nagaland at the North East Institute of Social Sciences and Research (NEISSR), Chümoukedima, Nshoga ascribed the low GER to limited courses offered in the higher education institutions as well as migration of students to other states.
The GER in Nagaland is expected to rise when multi-disciplinary courses are introduced and robust infrastructures are set up in the higher education institutions, to accommodate students opting for various courses, he said.
The director updated that there are 101 higher education institutes, including public and private institutes in Nagaland at present. The state government has also approved, in principle, to set up another six model colleges under PM –USHA initiative, covering the new districts.
There are three NAAC accredited autonomous colleges under Higher Education department, 69 affiliated colleges under Central Nagaland University, out of which 35 colleges are permanently affiliated to Nagaland University, 33 colleges have 2 and 12 under UGC status, while five colleges offer PG programmes, he disclosed.
He also informed that there are 17 government colleges and 54 private colleges in Nagaland, out of which 13 government colleges and 23 private colleges are accredited by NAAC.
“There is one Central University and four private universities in Nagaland, but the Nagaland University has no Human Resource Development Centre of its own to cater to refresher and orientation courses to its stakeholders, therefore, progressive teachers depend on other universities in India to avail such training courses,” he said.
Nshoga maintained that the department has taken National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 as a big step forward for holistic development in the field of education to transform the state of Nagaland into a vibrant knowledge society by making both the school and college education into a flexible and multidisciplinary institution.
To keep pace with the 21st century, he asserted that the higher education institutes in Nagaland are trying to embrace optimum use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), which is a pressing need of the hour under NEP 2020 objectives.
The official also pointed out that there is regional disparity on access to internet facilities, which seemingly poses a threat to equitable delivery of learning system.
“Online Distance Learning (ODL) in higher education institutions in Nagaland faces numerous challenges due to poor internet connectivity network even though Ministry of Human Resource Development has taken various initiatives,” he lamented.
The department has proposed 129 additional posts of assistant professors to introduce multidisciplinary courses in the higher education institutions, he said, while informing that there are 641 teachers in the Higher Education department at present and the Nagaland Public Service Commission has conducted exams for the post of 50 more assistant professors to fill up the backlog vacancies.
The Manpower Rationalisation Committee has also created eight more posts of assistant professors in Science stream, he added.
The director further stressed the leadership qualities of college principals, saying that they should collectively guide the institutions on the right path and build an effective team of teachers to mould and nurture students.
Leaders should resolve conflicts
Also speaking on the inaugural day of the workshop, attended by principals of 26 colleges, academicians and dignitaries, head of the department of Higher and Professional Education NEIPA, Prof. Sudhanshu Bhushan, said main objective of the programme is to discuss implementation of NEP in Nagaland, enhance quality of education and promotion of higher education in the state.
To become a leader in the true sense is to spread knowledge which is free from conflict, he said, adding that one main challenge faced by the head of an institution is on how to take a decision amidst conflict, asserting that an effective leader is one who can resolve conflict and arrive at a consensus through deliberation.
“Whenever change comes, there is some resistance to the changes and the only way to create an environment where people talk to each other and achieve a consensus is the most challenging part of an institution head,” he added.