The imbalance and disparity in funding of government and private 'is all too glaring and unjust, PCAN argues.
Dimapur, July 15 (MExN): Private colleges in Nagaland account for 76% of students in the higher education, but they are grossly underfunded by the government, the PCAN stated in a letter to the Chief Minister.
The imbalance and disparity in funding of government and private “is all too glaring and unjust,” the Private College Association Nagaland (PCAN) argued in the letter, highlighting the funding pattern over the years.
It pointed out that the Higher Education (HE) budget during 2018-19 was Rs 113.01 crore; out of which the allocation to private colleges was just Rs 0.64 crore, constituting a meager 0.57% of the total budget.
Data provided by PCAN highlighted that the State’s Government Grant-in-Aid to private colleges since 2016-17 below 1% of the total budget. There is no significant change during 2019-20, it added.
In this regard, PCAN contended that private colleges are “surviving” only because the students and parents “perceive the private colleges as providing quality education,” while adding that the drop-out rate in the private colleges are also much lower, than that of government colleges.
Further, the Association claimed that the private colleges in Nagaland charge “amongst one of the lowest fees in the country,” and are still expected to provide fee concessions at the expense of its employees. In this regard, it appealed the State Government for “one-time financial assistance” to compensate the loss during the pandemic while suggesting that fee reimbursement for students or some other “creative solution” can be adopted.
It also suggested the State Government to extend a special package in terms of one time grants/assistance of 30 to 50% of students' fees, paid directly to the needy students.
