“India is a country with huge diversifications not only in terms of food or culture but also in terms of Language, Geography and other aspects. It is very important that we leverage all the diversities of a particular region. A lesson taught in regional language will be more effective than the one taught in any other language,” said Temjen Imna Along, Minister for Higher & Technical Education, Government of Nagaland.

The Minister, as the Guest of Honour, shared his thoughts at 10th Higher Education and Human Resource Conclave Chandigarh in March 2019. He also inaugurated the conclave in the presence of other eminent dignitaries.

During his speech, Along touched various aspects like importance of digitisation in education, need of North East States’ inclusion for holistic development of the nation and important factors to impart quality higher education in the country.

Showing his happiness for gradually improving quality of higher education, Along said, “It is for the first time since last many decades when the North East feels connected to the rest of the country in the field of higher education and technical education.”

“We really thank our Prime Minister Narendra Modi Ji, Our Human Resource Development Minister Prakash Javadekar Ji and his team of bureaucrats and academicians who are working for it,” he added.

He emphasised that quality of higher education plays an important role in the development of youth and country holistically. He said, “I’m glad that we have come to realise the importance of higher education and technical education in our country. There is a huge gap between industry and academia. I belong to North East part of the country which is a cluster of eight small states. In Nagaland, the minimum qualification to teach is a Doctorate degree and in our department there is a dominance of women. So, it can be said that in Nagaland, women are more educationally empowered than men.”

“In a small State like Nagaland, we have 12 districts and in my one year of being in the Government, I’ve been to almost all the government colleges and interacted with students there. I’ve seen in my own State, we have 16 major tribes and a few minor tribes. Each district or tribe functions in a different way. It’s important to harness this diversity through education,” he further said.

Praising the accreditation policy of the country, the minister also stressed on the need of region-wise accreditation standards for higher education institutes. He said, “Another important thing that we need to focus here is to develop accreditation standards as per the region’s requirements. Current accreditation standards may be beneficial for the colleges located in Delhi-NCR or other nearby States. But accreditation must adopt the standards which are suitable for geographical and regional requirements.”

Referring Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA) as one of the best policies implemented by the Indian Government, Along said, “RUSA is not only meant to develop the infrastructure of higher education institutes across the country but it also have provisions to implement better policies for Skill & Vocational Training across the country. I am thankful for the government to implement the scheme as it is supporting the North East to impart quality higher education.”