SHILLONG, Jan 28: The APJ Abdul Kalam Study Centre at IIM Shillong, which is supported by the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), will help in implementing the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, particularly in the context of North East and is also likely to undertake a study to understand how best this can be done.
This was disclosed in New Delhi by Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), Dr Jitendra Singh, after an exhaustive meeting with the management of IIM Shillong, which was represented by its Chairman, Shishir Bajoria, Member Board of Governors, Atul Chandrakant Kulkari and others.
Hailing the NEP, introduced by the Ministry of Education with the intervention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as the biggest path-breaking reform in India since Independence, Jitendra Singh said the new policy is not only progressive and visionary but is also in keeping with the emerging needs and requirements of 21st-century India.
He deliberated that it gives young scholars and students enough room to decide their options depending upon their aptitude and their personal circumstances from time to time.
The entire Northeastern region is faced with the challenge of mass exodus of students to different parts of the country in pursuit of higher education in streams of their preference which may not be adequately available in the North East, he said.
The DoNER minister informed that the APJ Abdul Kalam Centre at IIM Shillong may also undertake a study to understand how the different streams and subjects available in the central institutions can be introduced in the North East so that the students of the region can also take the benefit of choosing subjects of their choice and also of going back to the subjects of their earlier preference, as envisaged in the new policy.
Further, the APJ Abdul Kalam Study Centre said that DoNER Minister Dr Jitendra Singh can suggest ways and means to involve the state-run colleges and institutions in carrying out the academic programmes initiated by the Centre.