GUWAHATI, Feb 20 � Two hundred colleges of the State are going to have at least two new contemporary subjects. This is being done in a bid to infuse dynamism into the stagnant higher education curricula in the State and make it respond to the competitive and changing job market, Education Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma told the media today.
Terming criticisms in a section of the media over the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) as totally wrong and misleading, Sarma said that everything was being done as per relevant Acts, Central guidelines and provisions of the Constitution of India, and in the most transparent manner.
�There is simply no room for any confusion in the entire exercise which has been accomplished with zero-political interference. �The numbers secured by a candidate in his/her HS, degree and TET exams would be computed for selection as teacher, and the viva will have no mark,� he said.
Sarma, who announced several initiatives to boost the higher education scenario, said that the new subjects would include employment-generating, specialized and market-driven subjects such as IT, entertainment industry, biotechnology, social sciences, etc.
Besides, there will be a restructuring of the existing subjects and curricula to make it up-to-date with the global transformations.
�All the government colleges and provincialized colleges would be having two contemporary subjects for which we will need around 1,200 additional faculties involving a huge financial exercise.
Sarma said that a committee comprising educationists and industrial honchos would guide the Government in effecting the desired changes.
�The committee headed by the Dibrugarh University Vice Chancellor is having the Vice Chancellors of eight other universities of the State besides top bureaucrats, technocrats and experts from industries. It will review the curriculum of the institutions of higher education and suggest policies/strategies/action needed for reorientation of the existing curriculum, and introduction of new courses in the curriculum,� Sarma said, adding that the committee members would also visit top institutions across the country for the purpose.
The State Government has also decided to provide yearly scholarships to meritorious students who get seats in top institutions such as IIT, IIM, NIIT, etc., in the range of Rs 30,000 (graduate level), Rs 36,000 (postgraduate level) and Rs 50,000 (MPhil/PhD).
�A corpus fund of Rs 11.50 crore has been constituted for the purpose, which will be formally launched before March 31,� Sarma said, adding that a nodal centre at a government college � most likely to be Cotton College � would be opened to expedite the process for the students eligible for the scholarship.
The minister also announced that all the arrear salaries of college and school teachers would be released in the forthcoming budget, and �it will be the last chance for the teachers to avail it.�
