SHILLONG, Aug 8: The state government has decided to set up the Captain Williamson Sangma Technical University in Tura in 2024 but has been non-committal about starting the much-vaunted State University in Shillong.
Education Minister Rakkam A. Sangma told reporters that the government would first like to start the Captain Williamson Sangma Technical University and discuss the State University later.
The technical university would have a regional office or campus in Shillong, he said after meeting a delegation of the Hynniewtrep Youth Council (HYC) who demanded the establishment of the State University and a campus of the one named after Captain Williamson Sangma in the Khasi-Jaintia Hills region.
Sangma said the process of appointing a vice-chancellor for the technical university in 2024 has begun.
Apart from the universities, the HYC team raised the issue of the implementation of the NEP-2020 and the problems faced by the students of the state in pursuing their higher studies in NEHU due to the limited number of seats after the introduction of CUET.
The establishment of the State University has become necessary for the youths of Meghalaya, the pressure group said.
The HYC called for the fixation and regulation of fees in government-aided and non-government educational institutions to help students from the lower strata of society get access to higher education.
Sangma said the government is seeking a report from the institutions for taking a decision on the fee structure.
On the demand to establish CUET centres in the state, he said three such centres would be set up in NEHU Shillong, NEHU Tura, and Jowai.
