MANIPUR: QUALITY EDUCATION CAN BE ACHIEVED WITH SUPPORT FROM ALL SECTIONS OF SOCIETY: THOKCHOM RADHESHYAM

Education Minister Shri Thokchom Radheshyam said, everyone wants to bring and establish a quality education in the State. He stressed that this can only be achieved with the support and cooperation of the people from every sections of the society.

He said that in the field of education equity, accessibility and quality are the three main factors needed to be maintained in educational institutions. He further added that in every institution there is two important parts the hardware and software which is the infrastructure, the teachers and students. For better functioning of every institute, funding is required, he added.

He stressed that in Higher Education Sector the main financial assistance is provided by Rashtriya Uchchtar Shikshya Abhiyan (RUSA) scheme and to acquire the funding accreditation of colleges by National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) is required. The role of teachers, students and non-teaching staffs, he asserted, is therefore very important in achieving the accreditation by NAAC, given through a brief assessment.

The Minister was speaking as the Chief Guest at ‘A Two Day National Seminar on Assessment of Higher Educational Institute by NAAC: Problems & Prospect’. The seminar is organised by The Maharaja Bodhchandra College, Palace Compound under the sponsorship of the Directorate of University & Higher Education.

He asserted that the youths of the state has the capability and it is through the hard work and dedication of the teachers and parents that the children could be mentored and guided to become a better individual for the advancement of the society. He emphasised that the duty towards the education sector needs to be put with a little extra effort and interest by everyone.

The Vice Chancellor, Manipur University, Prof. Adya Prasad Pandey said that more colleges of the state need to be made to get accreditation by National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) to bring more improvement in the field of higher education sector.

Joint Director, Higher & Technical Education Shri Lourembam Iboyaima Singh said that the seminar being organised was a timely one for there is 73 colleges in Manipur out of which only 22 colleges has the NAAC Accreditation. He said that the NAAC Accreditation is mandatory for financial assistance of the higher educational institutions.

It may be mentioned that the NAAC Accreditation is an autonomous body established by the University Grants Commission (UGC) of India to assess and accredit institutions of higher education in the country, established in 1994 with its headquarters at Bangalore. It has been started with a vision to make quality the defining element of higher education in India through a combination of self and external quality evaluation, promotion and sustenance initiatives.

The inaugural function was attended by Principals of different colleges of Manipur, resource persons from Manipur and outside the state, professors and students.