CM inaugurates Post Graduate programmes of ICFAI
TURA: Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on Monday has inaugurated new post graduate programmes of the ICFAI University at its headquarters in Tura and addressed the young minds during which he expressed concern about the rise in the number of young students not being able to attain college education and the danger of an unemployment explosion that could hit the state within the next decade unless ‘positive’ steps are taken to mitigate the problem.
“Right now there are 2 lakh children studying from secondary to college level, but the population in between the age group eligible stands at 10 lakh, which means 8 lakh youth are missing out on college education. This is a serious concern for our state and we as a government are working hard to meet this challenge in the right way,” said the chief minister while addressing the ICFAI students.
He warned that unless checked, Meghalaya could face, within the next ten years, a sudden explosion of unemployment which the state would be unable to deal with. The chief minister revealed that on an average the state is looking at one lakh youth entering the work force every year and opportunities is needed to be made available.
“This is precisely the reason why our government is focussing on entrepreneurship so as to channelise the potential of young people. I encourage the students to not only wait for government jobs but take opportunities in entrepreneurship and share their ideas so they too can become entrepreneurs in different fields and help in the creation of jobs for other people,” said Conrad. The chief minister was impressed by the proposal to promote tourism in Garo Hills put forward by ICFAI University students and encouraged them to carry out research not just for the interest but also the welfare of the state.
During the colourful programme, the Vice Chancellor of ICFAI University Dr. Alicia Gatphoh, handed over a cheque of one lakh rupees on behalf of ICFAI for the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund. A special newsletter of ICFAI Univesity titled “A’MITIM” was also released by the chief minister during the programme.
The Vice Chancellor of ICFAI University, Dr. Alicia Gatphoh in her address recalled the position of the university five years ago when few knew of its existence.