What will be the Future of Our Children if the lone College in Tamenglong is close-down?

 

With Dr. Gaikhuanlung Ngaomei, Asst. Professor, Pettigrew College, Ukhrul.

Tamenglong College, the lone degree-giving institute in the Tamenglong district, was established back in 1979. However, it started functioning as a full-fledged college only in 1985/86, got affiliation to Manipur University (MU) in 1992, and finally became a government college in 1995. Though it is situated in the remotest district of Manipur, it has been offering BA degree courses in different disciplines including Economics, Education, English, History, Political Science, Sociology, Statistics, etc. along with some vocational courses.

Recently MU gave the permission to start B.Sc. courses in Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, Botany, Zoology, Environmental Science, Computer Science, etc. from the coming academic session 2021-22. Meanwhile, the college is in the process of setting up a new campus along with hostel facilities in a more suitable site thanks to the pro-active support of Pou Armstrong Pame, IAS/DC, Pou Dr N. Daimei, Principal, and others who are involved in this dream project. We are hopeful that Commerce stream will also be introduced in the near future. For those who are not in a position to attend regular classes but want a degree, the college is planning to open an IGNOU study centre as soon as possible for which spot inspection has been completed by its Regional Centre Officials last week.

Now, students from Tamenglong district, and even beyond, can attend and get a degree in the subject of their choice from Tamenglong College in Sciences as well as Social Sciences.

However, despite many positive developments in the last few years, there are also challenges ahead. As many of us are aware, assessment from the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) has become mandatory without which the college could be in deep trouble. NAAC is an autonomous institution established by the University Grants Commission (UGC) for assessing and accrediting all higher education institutions (HEIs) including Universities, Colleges, etc. of the country. Accreditation is the certification of quality that has to be renewed after every five years.

At first, the college has to prepare multiple files and infrastructures by spending a reasonable amount of money. Once the college is ready, it shall pay about 3 lakh (in total) as fees for the NAAC peer team to visit the college who will give a grade between (A++ to D) or (4 to 0). In Manipur, the government has made it compulsory for all colleges to be NAAC assessed by 2022 with a minimum 2.5 cumulative grade point average (CGPA). For the NAAC assessment, each institution will be given three chances for the first round (cycle-1), and for those who failed for the third time, nobody knows what will happen to them. For Tamenglong College, preparing for NAAC assessment is not an easy task due to shortage of man-power as well as poor infrastructure but it is not impossible if we join our hands together.

To cut the long story short, NAAC assessment will not be possible without the active cooperation of the local populace. Whereas the college authority has the major chunk of responsibility, the local community, too, have their share. So, the following are a few areas where local people can contribute in this regard:

First, parents and guardians should encourage their wards in getting admission in the college in large number. The more the number of students, the better the chances to be assessed.

Second, all the alumni (past students) must submit their bio-data to the college since their opinion as well as performance in life is important for NAAC assessment. Details of alumni who are already working in different sectors (government service, social service, higher studies, etc.) also matters a lot.

Third, in a Christianised-tribal society like ours, the Church is the most resourceful organisation because they command the trust of the people. So the local churches can contribute in many ways so as to have a good college since it will ultimately benefit them in the long run.

Fourth, people from all walks of life who are concerned about the status of higher education in the district can also contribute in their own way. For instance, a very simple act like appreciating the little things done by the college will go a long way since people’s positive perception matters for NAAC. In case the common people gave a bad image, all the resources invested by the college and other concerned authorities can go in vain. After all, the college belongs to all of us and not to the Principal and staff alone!

With these few words, our main intention is to make each one of us aware that the survival of the college largely depends on the support of the local people. The New Education Policy (NEP) 2020 is expected to bring a sea change in India’s education system unlike never before. Whereas good institutes are likely to get better support from UGC and other funding agencies, weaker institutes will be either club together or close down. And I hope none of us would like our lone college to close prematurely since there are many bright students here who don’t have the means to go outside for higher education. In the valley districts, they have many alternate options even if two or more colleges are club together or shut-down, but for us, we have only one. So, let’s join our hands together to make Tamenglong College the best government college in the hill districts. If we don’t, the spirits of the founding fathers will haunt us someday! Or, are we ready to dig a grave for the college?

(Read the Rongmei (Kabui) version which was published in The Tamenglong Times on April 1, 2021  here: http://shongthuchate.blogspot.com/2021/04/tamenglong-college-hei-mbangh-kan.html)