Nagaland MP presses for central professional colleges as youth gap widens

A call for urgent intervention in Nagaland’s higher education sector dominated Zero Hour today, as MP Supongmeren Jamir warned Parliament that the state’s young population is slipping through the cracks despite its high literacy rate.

Nagaland records literacy at 95 per cent, yet only 29 per cent of its literate citizens fall within the key 15–29 age bracket. Jamir told the Lok Sabha that this imbalance threatens long-term human resource development, regional equity and the state’s ability to participate in national growth agendas, including the broader goal of Viksit Bharat 2047.

He argued that the shortage of government-run professional colleges has become a structural barrier. Nagaland currently hosts nine polytechnics and a handful of private law institutions, but it lacks state-run professional colleges beyond the National Institute of Technology. According to Jamir, this gap is pushing students to migrate for basic opportunities in law and engineering, weakening local capacity-building.

Raising the matter under Rule 377, the MP urged the Centre to establish two critical institutions — a central law college and a government engineering college — stating that they are essential for strengthening the state’s talent pipeline and reducing educational outmigration.

Jamir framed the appeal as both a developmental and strategic priority, arguing that improved access to higher education would enable Naga youth to contribute directly to economic growth and national integration.

The request now awaits consideration from the relevant ministries, with the MP expressing hope that the Centre will move to correct what he described as a long-standing institutional deficit.