Dimapur, August 24 (MExN): Head honchos of higher education institutions and research organisations will, on September 5, be deliberating on the role of universities, technical and research institutions of North East in the implementation of NE Vision 2020.
Besides the focus points of the Vision 2020 Document, the discussions are also expected to throw light on the importance and scope of target-oriented R&D projects in the universities and institutions of higher and technical education. A panel discussion of heads of higher technical education institutions, vice chancellors and research organisations operating in North East India on the said theme has been organised by the Education Research & Development Foundation of Guwahati.
The panel discussion will focus on a number of aspects in the NER Vision 2020. An important aspect the panel will cover is human resources. Human resources are the single most promising development asset of the North East and her talented people boast of standards of literacy well above the national average. But their potential, a message from the ERDF stated, is being stifled by inadequate access to quality education, vocational education, training in languages (including Hindi, English and foreign languages), training in computers and IT, technical training, and business and management skills.
Another focal point is the investment in education and sports, arts and culture, and capacity-building in general. It is a “soft investment” with enormous potential for high economic returns, the ERDF stated. A concerted effort to create centres of excellence (such as IITs, IIITs, IIMs) through both public and private initiatives is essential to address the critical skill shortages especially in higher and technical education for the region, the ERDF stated adding that each state should have at least one such centre.
The ERDF further stated that development of human resources is critical for the development of the region. “While the literacy rate in the region is high, the employability of the youth in the region in skill-intensive activities and within the manufacturing and service sectors is not very high. The region does not have an entrepreneurial class to take up the challenge of generating economic activities,” it stated. The ERDF said structural transformation of the economy can only take place by creating and enhancing the multidimensional capacities that are linked to the human resource requirements for expanding the primary, manufacturing and services sectors.
The ERDF also emphasised on the need to improve human development indicators of the tribal population. Recent population growth in many of the NE states has meant that a substantial portion of the population is younger than 14 years in Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya, accounting for as much as 40 and 42 per cent of the state population, respectively.
“In the broadest sense, education will be the most critical input to empower these young people with the ability to expand their life’s choices,” the ERDF stated. Similarly, it said providing access and incentives for the education of women and tribal populations in the region is extremely important for its social and economic transformation and to provide sustainable livelihood systems.
Besides expanding the educational infrastructure, particularly in technical areas such as engineering, medicine, information technology, and bio-technology, the ERDF marked as necessary removing barriers in accessing education. Tribal people and women can access education through appropriate policies including creation of hostels in towns and special coaching for admissions and to improve their overall performance, ERDF said.
Other issues which the panel discussion will broach include school education, quality of education, promotion of science and mathematics teaching in the region and capacity-building of the education sector and emphasis on research and development. The venue for the discussions is the art conference hall of the Regional Institute of Science & Technology (RIST), GS Road, Ri Bhoi district in Meghalaya. Senior officials of the Government of India departments and bodies such as the ICAR, ICMR, NIRD, NEC, and DoNER have also been requested to take part in the discussions. Union Minister for DoNER, B K Handique, is to inaugurate the programme. The inaugural session will start at 10:00am.
