By Our Reporter
Shillong: State Urban Affairs Minister Ampareen Lyngdoh said on Friday that there is a huge gap between policy makers and the people, adding that the policies made by the Government are not tailored to the needs of people and does not address the aspirations of the younger generation.
Highlighting this at a two-day National Conference on Career and Livelihood Planning organized by the Meghalaya Association of Professional counsellors (MAPC), Martin Luther Christian University (MLCU) and Indian Association for Career and Livelihood Planning (IACLP) at Shillong Club here on Friday, Lyngdoh said there is need to bridge this gap between present policy making and the real needs of people. Only then can people rise to the next higher educational and economic levels.
Speaking from an academic point of view, the Urban Affairs Minister said “It is important for legislators to look for avenues to help consolidate thousands of people who need career counselling and for this we need accredited counsellors.”
Stressing on the need to look at the challenges of employment in the 21st century, Lyngdoh said between career and livelihoods straddle a vast number of people from a family backgrounds that cannot afford higher technical education. “We must think of appropriate careers to bring about individual and economic development in the State,” Lyngdoh asserted.
The Urban Affairs Minister also mentioned that there are not enough platforms for the youth to talk about their problems, adding that this has prompted the youth to join militancy which is on the rise in the State. “We must deliver to our children what we promised to deliver,” she opined.
Making a pointed reference to the recent controversy on MLCU and the allegations regarding the inefficiency and incompetence of MLCU, Lyngdoh said, “We must all good things in the State including the contributions that the University is making and leave behind the grievances about technicalities.”
Later, speaking on the theme, ‘Looking within’, president of the IACLP Dr Gideon Arulmani of Promise Foundation, Bangalore said their main aim is to discuss the human potential in relation to career and livelihood planning and the second is to examine career development in the context of Northeast India’s indigenous orientations to work and livelihood
Meanwhile, giving an insight into the MAPC, secretary of MAPC Namrata Rynjah said the association stresses on issues like illiteracy and violence besides other issues and also encourages research projects by collaborating with local NGOs. She also informed that the associated was officially registered on November 1.
Others who spoke on the occasion were Vice Chancellor of MLCU, Prof Glenn Kharkongor. Delegates, including eminent psychologists and career counsellors from across the country participated in this two-day conference.