Guwahati: Assam govt is going ahead with a plan to merge colleges or its departments having low enrolment, officials said, even as a plan is afoot to stop recruiting teachers against vacancies in departments with fewer students.
Education minister Ranoj Pegu has asked the authorities concerned to draft a policy to this effect. In the last few years, many govt-run schools in the state were merged due to low enrolment.
On Saturday, the state higher education department conducted a meeting with the principals and governing body presidents of 79 colleges that have less than 500 enrolments. A possible roadmap to enhance enrolment was discussed in the meeting.
“I’ve directed @higherednassam to draft a policy similar to #Shilshakshetra in @SchoolEdnAssam, aiming to merge Colleges or Departments having low enrolment and to stop recruiting teachers against vacancies in dept with low enrolment,” Pegu wrote on X later.
Sources said the decision to merge the colleges or departments will also rationalise the number of teachers. “After the merger, students will get an adequate number of teachers,” the source added.
According to the sources, some colleges may become co-educational after the merger.
Pegu on Sunday said enhancing the gross enrolment ratio (GER) in higher education is a priority of the govt.
The National Educational Policy (NEP) 2020 aims for a 50% GER by 2030, but at present, Assam’s GER stands at 16.9%, which is way below the national average of 28.4%.
“Our low GER is not due to enrolment rates, but primarily due to incomplete data submission to the All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE). To address this, @higherednassam organized a three-day workshop at B Borooah College for over 800 Government and Private HEI to ensure accurate and timely data submission to AISHE,” Pegu wrote on X.
He said his initiative would provide the govt with a comprehensive view of the higher education sector, including GER, enrolment, and pass percentage, facilitating the formulation of relevant policies.
Education minister Ranoj Pegu has asked the authorities concerned to draft a policy to this effect. In the last few years, many govt-run schools in the state were merged due to low enrolment.
On Saturday, the state higher education department conducted a meeting with the principals and governing body presidents of 79 colleges that have less than 500 enrolments. A possible roadmap to enhance enrolment was discussed in the meeting.
“I’ve directed @higherednassam to draft a policy similar to #Shilshakshetra in @SchoolEdnAssam, aiming to merge Colleges or Departments having low enrolment and to stop recruiting teachers against vacancies in dept with low enrolment,” Pegu wrote on X later.
Sources said the decision to merge the colleges or departments will also rationalise the number of teachers. “After the merger, students will get an adequate number of teachers,” the source added.
According to the sources, some colleges may become co-educational after the merger.
Pegu on Sunday said enhancing the gross enrolment ratio (GER) in higher education is a priority of the govt.
The National Educational Policy (NEP) 2020 aims for a 50% GER by 2030, but at present, Assam’s GER stands at 16.9%, which is way below the national average of 28.4%.
“Our low GER is not due to enrolment rates, but primarily due to incomplete data submission to the All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE). To address this, @higherednassam organized a three-day workshop at B Borooah College for over 800 Government and Private HEI to ensure accurate and timely data submission to AISHE,” Pegu wrote on X.
He said his initiative would provide the govt with a comprehensive view of the higher education sector, including GER, enrolment, and pass percentage, facilitating the formulation of relevant policies.