By Sumarbin Umdor
The steady deterioration in the quality of education in Meghalaya is a matter of serious concern to academicians, policymakers and the general public with a lot of focus on the falling standards of school education attributed to the lack of trained teachers, poor pedagogy, poor school infrastructure and an outdated curriculum. Successive governments and NGO surveys on the status of school education in India (Performance Grading Index & Annual Status of School Education) have placed Meghalaya among the laggard states in terms of achievement in learning outcomes, quality of teaching and governance.
While school education in Meghalaya has had more than its fair share of criticism, scant attention has been paid to the state of collegiate education. Of the 2746 colleges that participated in the National Institutional Ranking Framework in 2023, five colleges are from Meghalaya but none of them figured in the list of top 200 ranked colleges in the country. The two colleges from the northeast that found a place in this list are Pachhunga University College from Mizoram and Patkai Christian College from Nagaland.
At present there are 82 colleges/institutions affiliated to NEHU of which 75 are offering UG programmes in Arts & Humanities, Commerce & Management, Science, Education, Law, Computer Applications, Mass Communication, etc., while the remaining 7 colleges offer courses covering nursing & medical (6), and engineering (1). Of these 75 UG colleges, 6 are government colleges, 32 are government-assisted colleges (under deficit, Ad-Hoc and Lump-Sum grants) and the remaining 47 are privately funded. In terms of multidiscipline institutions, 50 colleges are single stream offering UG programme in Arts & Humanities (42), Law (3) and Teacher Education (5); 15 colleges offer programmes in two streams- Arts and Science streams (4), Arts and Commerce streams (10), and Commerce and Business Management streams (1); and 9 colleges are offering in three or more streams.
Only 18 of the above colleges are in Garo Hills with 15 of them being single-stream institutions (Arts-12, Teacher Education-2, Law-1), and 3 others offering degrees in more than one stream. Many of the multidiscipline colleges in the state are concentrated in and around Shillong. In 2022-23, the total enrolment in NEHU-affiliated UG colleges was about 53000, with around three fourth enrolled in the Arts stream, followed by Science (10 %) and Commerce (8 %).
As almost all colleges in Meghalaya are affiliated to NEHU, this article compares the standard of the present 3-year NEHU UG curriculum with those in other states followed till 2022 (many states have adopted the new NEP UG curriculum of 2023). Under the Choice Based Credit System (CBCS) adopted by NEHU a few years back, a student has to clear 18 papers (total of 1800 marks) in six semesters to be awarded an Honours Bachelor’s degree, of which 8 major papers are Core course (CC), 6 papers are Generic Elective course (GEC) from two interdisciplinary subjects (8 papers in case of Science stream), and remaining are language and Environmental Science papers under Ability Enhancement course (AEC).
The 3-year UG curriculum in other states followed till 2022 covers much more in terms of courses and the total papers. The UG curriculum of Mizoram University covers a total of 24 papers (5 to 6 credits) consisting of CC (12 papers), GEC (8 papers), and the remaining papers are AEC. Guwahati University curriculum covers 26 papers in all (of 5 to 6 credits) consisting of CC (14 papers), Discipline Elective course or DEC which is an elective of the main subject (4 papers) and GEC (4 papers). Additionally, there are 2 papers under the Skill Elective course (SEC). UG curriculum of Nagaland University covers 32 papers comprising CC (14 papers), DEC (4 papers), GEC (12 papers from two interdisciplinary subjects) besides AEC. Delhi University’s curriculum covers 26 papers comprising CC (14 papers), DEC (4 papers), GEC (4 papers), and 2 papers each under SEC and AEC.
The curricula of the above colleges are as per the UGC minimum course curriculum for UG courses under CBCS which UGC had recommended a few years back. It stipulates that a 3-year UG Honours programme should comprise of 14 papers under CC, 4 papers each under DSE and GES (interdisciplinary), and 2 papers each under SEC and AEC.
The above comparison clearly reveals how the present UG curriculum followed by NEHU-affiliated colleges is well below the minimum course curriculum recommended by UGC and those followed by colleges in other states. Students in Meghalaya study only 8 core/major papers (with no additional electives) which is less than half of what a DU student covers in three years (14 core/major and 4 DEC papers). Even students in Mizoram and Nagaland are studying more core/major papers (12 to 14 papers). Further, skill papers are not part of the UG curriculum of NEHU. The total number of papers (18 papers) covered in 3 years by UG students in Meghalaya is way below when compared to what his or her counterpart studies in Mizoram (24 papers), Nagaland (32 papers), Assam and Delhi (26 papers).
This huge gap in our UG curriculum is the reason why many of our students find it difficult to clear the CUET-PG, and it may also be the reason why they find it difficult to clear the central government’s group A and B competitive examinations. The question that arises is why NEHU did not adopt at least the minimum syllabi of the core papers (14 papers) which was a condition stipulated by UGC when the minimum course curriculum was introduced. The main reason was the pushback from colleges at that time citing a lack of teaching staff and infrastructure.
Today, we find ourselves in the same situation as there is a request from colleges to defer the adoption of the UGC Curriculum and Credit Framework for 3-year UG Programmes of 2023 under the New Education Policy (NEP) that has also been adopted by NEHU. Colleges have cited a lack of qualified teaching personnel, infrastructure and limited time among other reasons. In the new framework, the total number of papers to be taught will increase from the present 18 to 32, with 15 of these being major papers under CC, 6 papers under minor and vocation courses, 3 papers under SEC, and other papers under AEC, value-added and multidisciplinary courses.
The new NEP curriculum is a huge jump from what is being taught under the present UG curriculum in Meghalaya both in terms of the number of papers and the variety of courses. However, not adopting the NEP curriculum would mean that our UG course would continue to be below par and our students would continue to languish behind students from other states. Had we even partially adopted the earlier UGC minimum course curriculum under CBCS, the transition to the new NEP curriculum framework would not have been much of a challenge. This is precisely the reason why states like Mizoram, Nagaland, Assam and Delhi (to name a few) have been able to switch over to the NEP curriculum as it involves the addition of only a few papers and courses.
While there will be a tremendous challenge in adopting the NEP curriculum in Meghalaya, particularly for single-stream colleges in rural areas, not doing so would put our students at a great disadvantage as it would severely hinder their learning outcomes. Moreover, there is a real danger that our UG degree may not be acceptable elsewhere if it does not conform to the new UGC-mandated course and credit requirement. The time has come for our colleges to fully shift to the new NEP curriculum even if it entails a lot of challenges and difficulties in the initial period. NEHU and the State government must also play their part in supporting them through concrete plans and support.