By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Aug 23: Chief Minister, Conrad K Sangma on Wednesday said it is imperative that the genuine concerns and issues raised by the Meghalaya College Teachers’ Association (MCTA) on the implementation of National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 are addressed.
Responding to queries from journalists about the difficulties in NEP’s implementation in the state considering the non-cooperation movement launched by the MCTA, Sangma said the college teachers are not against NEP.
“The MCTA teachers have met me. They are only asking where the money and classrooms are to implement NEP. If you are starting the four-year course and suddenly, there are no teachers to teach in the second year and the third year, what do we do then? They have genuine concerns or issues which need to be resolved,” the CM said.
The college teachers want to know how they are going to do it and how much support they are going to get, Sangma said.
He said there is no impasse as such. He said the implementation of NEP is a transition into a new system and it is not going to be simple.
“Hence, we need to give time to transit into the new system. I understand that it is not an easy task since we need more classrooms, more disciplines and more teachers. All of this requires more money,” Sangma said, adding the issue entails an immediate investment of Rs 400 crore to Rs 500 crore.
According to him, these are all deficit-pattern colleges that are run by managing committees, not owned by the government but aided by the government.
He said they will need to assess how much the government can help them and what kind of role it can play.
“These are all matters that cannot be decided in one go and it has a huge impact. It is important to understand that a lot of funds are also involved. The question is how we organize it. But the bottom line is there is no choice but to move forward. Every college in the state will also agree that it is the right thing to do,” Sangma said.
Asked about Kerala and Karnataka rejecting NEP, he said he has no idea why they did so. He said most colleges and academicians will agree that NEP is the right way forward.
“Personally, I will also agree that it is the right way to move forward because it is a more holistic education and we cannot be in an education system which has been there for the last 75 years. It’s time to change in terms of the changing dynamics of teaching,” he added.
VPP seeks early solution to NEP impasse
The Voice of the People Party (VPP) on Wednesday urged the state government to immediately intervene and resolve the standoff between Meghalaya College Teachers’ Association (MCTA) and North-Eastern Hill University (NEHU) Vice Chancellor Prabha Shankar Shukla on the latter’s decision to implement National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 from this academic session.
VPP president, Ardent Miller Basaiawmoit said the party is concerned about the well-being of students and the quality of education. He stressed on building adequate infrastructure and increasing the number of teachers before the new education policy is put in place. “We would like to caution people, especially students, not to be influenced by those who wish to implement this policy within this academic year without taking into consideration the problems,” Basaiawmoit said.
He said the VPP is not against NEP but is only questioning the preparedness of the colleges and institutions to implement it within this academic year in the light of the issues cited.
NEP offers various courses, including vocational courses, to students but the issue of additional classrooms to accommodate the increasing number of students and teachers has to be addressed first, Basaiawmoit stressed.
He said the VPP is also concerned about the government’s unwillingness to create teaching positions in the colleges which made the institutions create their own teaching positions that are not at par with those of UGC sanctioned posts.
Basaiawmoit said it not only affects pay scales but it also has a significant impact on workload.
The VPP president further observed that NEP stresses on giving autonomy to colleges. He said this will make it difficult for the state government to regulate the functioning of colleges and institutions as they will have the freedom to decide on the fee structure which will have a direct bearing on the students, especially those from poor background.
He reminded the state government that it accepted Common University Entrance Test (CUET) without taking into consideration the problem which the students have to encounter.
“A large number of students have been denied admission for their undergraduate courses due to lack of examination centers in the state. They could not appear for CUET exam. Therefore, we do not want the same fate to await the students as regards NEP,” Basaiawmoit said.