Making Arts and Science colleges in Manipur relevant to local graduates

Shanjoy Mairembam *

Majority of colleges in Manipur (fully funded or aided by State Government) are created as Arts and Science colleges and few of them also offer Commerce degree courses. They must be operated more innovatively to deliver development of the state (similar to the ways how professional degree colleges are managed and perceived). Their presence must bring about socio-economic impact locally around the towns wherein these colleges are located in Manipur.

The course contents and delivery approach followed by these colleges must not blindly copy whatever and however is being taught elsewhere, and instead the overall goal must be for a 'fit for purpose' relevance to the local scenario. They need to be reoriented towards 'applied studies' approach so that 'non-professional degree' graduates produced in Manipur are empowered to become job creators within Manipur in their field of study. Special consideration must be also given to employment standards of staffs (i.e. academic and non-academics) and feasibility of sharing teaching infrastructures on external knowledge exchange activities.

Highlights of current Higher Education (HE) scenario in Manipur may include 'negligible student numbers in colleges', 'non-employability of graduates out of colleges', 'unmotivated academics and lack of professional support staffs in colleges', 'poorly maintained infrastructures in colleges', 'negligible socio-economic impact because of a college's presence in a region when compared to the public budget being spent annually on staff salaries and maintenance of the college'.

It's doubtful whether any official or Hon'ble Minister of Education in the Government of Manipur has analysed the principle questions such as 'why a student has to go to a college/University after school education', or 'how attending a course in a local college add values to the students as compared to attending a distance learning course from a reputed institution elsewhere', or 'how skill training and vocational courses are aligned to degree courses so that graduates can experience both aspects during the three years degree course' or 'should colleges in Manipur run courses with contents as same as those running in other states of India', or 'should colleges be only about teaching students or be used for socio-economic development agenda'.

State Government seems to believe that 'facilitating setup of few private universities in Manipur is the only and best way forward to improve HE scenario in Manipur' and 'new HE policy means focusing only on private university setup'. Such standalone policy without rectifying the core HE policies is rather likely to fuel further deterioration to social values and economy of Manipur; because the State Government has failed to recognise the 'in-principle' connection between 'the presence of a local university/college' and 'the purpose of a local student to attend a local university/college'.

The guiding doctrine for a new HE policy ought to be such that 'the policy facilitates a youth to empower self to create own career even if the graduate isn't unable to be absorbed into the available job market (in Government services or Private Company jobs) due to whatever reasons after their graduation from the HE institutions'.

The foremost essential action for Government of Manipur to revive dying non-professional degree colleges in Manipur and aspire for a new HE scenario which is fit for the 21st century is to restructure 'Department of University and Higher Education' towards new roles and responsibilities, along with bringing changes in certain areas of HE policies as explained in this paper.

Such a suggestion is because of the fact that overall operational control of these colleges (incl. topics of staffs employment, infrastructure management, Higher Education policies, student admissions, student welfare measures) are under this department in the Government of Manipur, while the role of Manipur University (a Central University under Ministry of Human Resource Development) over these colleges is limited only to awarding of degree certificates by holding examinations because of their affiliation to the university.

A 21st Century's HE policy needs to consider various aspects such as: 'employment norm of academic staffs to be practice-led researcher/tutor', 'expanding roles and accountability of a College Principal', 'administrative staffs to support non-academic responsibilities professionally at colleges (esp. estates and socio-economic impact agenda)', 'bonus/reward schemes and additional project funding pots to motivate/increase contribution by academics', 'centralised web-based learning course materials (video, audio, text) accessible to students via mobile or online', 'modular classrooms for dual-use purposes (i.e. teaching as well as external knowledge exchange) and flexibility to use joint learning infrastructures among colleges', 'accessibility of teaching staffs by students from other colleges', 'local job creation and economic development', 'involvement of local authorities in planning/delivering HE activities'.

HE as a sector doesn't work in silo and aligning HE policies to the agendas of other ministries (such as commerce and industries, social welfare, science and technology, tourism) are essential. HE institutions serve only as temporary transit point for youths from their homes to the real society/industry.

In order to capture how HE institutions are delivering towards their intended mandates, a systematic measurement framework ought to be created (e.g. in UK, Teaching Excellence Framework, Research Excellence Framework, Knowledge Exchange Framework are used). Such an approach will help in measuring 'teaching/learning outputs by students at each college, whether fit for purpose later in the society/industry', 'research/knowledge-exchange activities by academics and support staffs at each college', 'utilisation of college/university assets for local economies', 'alignment with NAAC and NIRF exercises conducted by Central Government authorities', 'effectiveness of programmes created for own agenda by other ministries to compliment HE agenda at each college/university', etc.

With the growth of IT/Internet, and availability of hi-tech mobile devices at the disposal of students, a new infrastructural approach of providing learning system is necessary. The role of academics in colleges must be changed from 'teaching' to 'supporting'.

Infrastructures of colleges must be designed for dual usage by staffs/students as well as nearby public users. Various courses and infrastructures planned under the agendas of other skills training institutes, ITIs (Industrial Training Institutes), and professional colleges must align with the plans of nearby HE institutions. Staff support Intranet Portals should be made available (incl. new 'Train the Trainer' type courses).

Also, it's time to update roles and responsibilities of a College Principal by adding new accountabilities on socio-economic impact agenda to the local region via effective utilisation of available assets of the respective colleges and contribution by academic/non-academic staffs. Establishment of new local advisory boards to colleges is essential to facilitate such impact agenda with local governing Municipal councils.

Curriculum design and delivery structure may consider including 'research project submission as form of examination', 'case-study based teaching', 'research paper on local industry/sector professionals as coursework test', 'non-tutor-led course materials for self-study', 'interventional add-on modules on skills trainings (e.g. centrally managed 'web-based/video-audio' courses and subsidised crash courses at some physical centres)', 'web-based intranet for all students and tutors similar to web-based distance learning systems'.

One time investment may be necessary on the development of course materials and teaching/learning delivery system (e.g. 'Blackboard' software). Fixed dates on academic semesters should be maintained annually for all relevant activities at each colleges irrespective of any potential disruptive issues. Clarity of information necessary for use by students or parents of students or staffs should be maintained by the Department of University and Higher Education through dedicatedly designed Intranets and web-portals.

Thus, an overhaul of HE policy is necessary to make the current colleges in Manipur (delivering Arts, Sciences, and Commerce courses) relevant to local graduates. Otherwise, neither students are benefiting nor local towns where these colleges are located. Yet, huge expense is going out every year from the state budget to pay salaries of the staffs and maintenance of college assets without making much return to the society.