Saturday, April 26, 2025

Need for institutional engagement

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Many questions have been raised as to what central institutions have done to add value to the state they are located in. Often the only limited ambition of any state or people where a central institution is created is ‘employment’ for the local people. But what normally happens is that the state where a central institution comes up does not have the academic expertise and experiential requirements that the institution demands at higher levels. The only jobs available are the clerical or fourth grade varieties. Hence the top paying jobs go to people who are brought in from outside the state. The reverse is also true. The best brains from the state are compelled to look for jobs and placements outside the state because it does not have the capacity to absorb those brilliant minds. Those who have found better paying jobs outside the state or the country would think twice before returning to their home state. A few do come back to add value to the home institution they join in because they bring their expertise and experience with them.

Meghalaya has a number of premier central institutions from the Institute for Hospitality Management (IHM), to the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), to the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) to the National Institute of Technology (NIT) among others. These Institutes have been functioning for over a decade and it is time to evaluate as to what value they have added to Meghalaya and their level of engagement with the local communities. What level of trust have these institutions been able to build in the societies surrounding them. Have they been able to help address some of the challenges faced by the local communities or have they remained ivory towers inside their gated institutions.

Trust is integral to the functioning of any society. Trust in public institutions are all essential ingredients for social and economic progress. The institutions that have come up, particularly the IIM and IHM have a major role to play in training local communities in short term management courses such as in tourism management, training of tour guides and operators and training in selling destinations and determining the costing of such destinations so that they become sustainable. IIM Shillong can train local traditional institutions on policy planning and execution and service delivery. Actually, the success in achieving each of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)—from eliminating poverty (SDG1), to combatting climate change (SDG13), to building peaceful and inclusive societies (SDG16)—will depend on how much the citizens and businesses trust public institutions. Hence public institutions of national importance have a crucial role to play but the local communities too must find ways to engage with these institutions. In this endeavour perhaps the State Government has to play a bridge-building role.

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