Bright spots of human capital enhancement
- Two stories -

Amar Yumnam *

There is nothing like knowledge. Now the world understands it, and so does India. The setting of Knowledge Commission (headed by the thinking technocrat, Sam Pitroda) and the many reports of it are examples of Indias appreciation of the significance of knowledge.

Now this week we have had another report of a committee headed by a socially thinking physical scientist (in most instances we find the physical scientists absolutely poor on the front of social consciousness and conscientiousness), Yash Pal. The implementation of the recommendations contained in this report of 94 pages (Report of The Committee to Advise on Renovation and Rejuvenation of Higher Education headed by Yash Pal) would result in a paradigm shift of the higher education scenario in this country.

The contemporary international concern with the creation of a knowledge economy (an economy where the knowledge content of every activity is intensified) is a natural evolution of the significance of human capital in explaining the development trajectory discovered with renewed vigour during the later part of the 1980s.

The moment we talk of human capital, I am particularly impressed by the performance and current status of two institutes in this contemporaneously murky land of ours. Before I come to the names of these two, let me highlight why human capital is so important.

Significance of Human Capital : Human capital is what determines the capability of an individual to function. Two most important components as well as determinants of human capital are education and health. Let me try to explain their importance with an example well given. Education is what gives a person on how to ride a bicycle.

But knowing how to ride the cycle alone is not sufficient. The person must also be healthy enough to be able to ride the cycle. So education and health go together, one without the other is meaningless in most instances. Without adequate preparations in these two areas, no land can ever think of moving towards a knowledge economy, the cutting edge of today.

But it is exactly in these two areas that Manipurs position and preparation have been wanting for a period longer than necessary. Our school education scenario in the public sector has nothing to write home about. But fortunately for us we have some institutes in the private sector to make good part of the lapses in the state sector. But the situation is absolutely pathetic in the higher education sector with no substitute service providers present in the arena.

The scenario is true in the case of the government health sector services. Fortunately here again, we have a few institutes emerging to fill the void caused by the non-performance of the state health sector.

The Two Bright Spots : The two bright spots emerging in the private sector I want to talk about relate one each to the two sectors of health and higher education. One is the S.K. Womens College at Nambol for higher education, and the other is the Shija Hospitals and Research Institute at Lamphelpat for health services. While people have heard at least something about the Shija Hospitals, there is very little information in the public domain about the womens college.

Modern education, to be competitive, requires at least two things. First, it requires adequate infrastructure, particularly relating to modern information technology.

Secondly, it calls for availability in situ scope for access to the frontier disciplines. The S. K. Womens College amply satisfies these two requirements. It is because this college situates in a wrong place and at a wrong time that we do not hear much about this college. There is no college as well-equipped as this one in Manipur.

In fact, it would be one of the best colleges in the country in so far as at least modern infrastructure is concerned. It would be a hard task to get admitted to this college if it were to be in cities like Delhi or Bangalore.

On the health sector, it is fundamental for any treatment centre that it elicits confidence, and definitely not ambiguity and fear. The achievement of Shija Hospitals lies in having generated this feeling among the masses. People afford cost in terms of time, money and distance to reach this hospital.

Besides they leave behind many other conveniently located treatment centres to reach this hospital. But this trust of the people is something which has not come by easy. It has been earned through hard labour over the years. The challenge lies in sustaining this trust for it is something which can never be lost even momentarily; building up the trust is definitely a long drawn process which Shija Hospitals know better than anybody else.

The Hope : The future of our hope lies in that both the institutes still display the same zeal and steadfastness to move ahead, come what may. It should now be the social responsibility of the public and the financial institutions on how to further nourish these two bright spots of contemporary Manipur.

It should also be the responsibility for all of us to see to it that these two are not left alone, but are given competition.