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Varsities advised to teach NE history

By Spl correspondent

NEW DELHI, Aug 1 - The University Grants Commission (UGC) has advised the universities in the country to teach history of northeastern region (NER) at undergraduate (UG) and postgraduate (PG) level.

In a Lok Sabha reply, Minister of State for Human Resource Development Dr Mahendra Nath Pandey said that universities in the country have been instructed to raise awareness about the history, literature and culture of NER.

Further, student exchange programmes between higher education institutes in the Northeast and those in other states are sought to be enhanced to understand and appreciate the culture of the region, he said. Cultural exchanges between the institutions of NER and universities in other parts of the country will also be encouraged, he added.

In addition, the UGC has also advised the universities to include the units on freedom-fighters from NER in curricula at various levels. The National Council for Education Research and Training (NCERT) has included in its textbooks contents on various aspects of life and culture of the NER, he said.

Further, the minister said that the Government of India has launched several initiatives for educational assistance to students of the northeastern states. Under the �Ishaan Uday� scheme, 10,000 scholarships are awarded to students of the Northeast for their higher education outside the region.

Supernumerary seats for NER students are also reserved in engineering, technology, architecture and pharmacy courses in institutions approved by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE). The AICTE has a scheme called North East Quality Improvement Programme (NEQIP) to provide grant-in-aid for improving quality of education in technical institutes in the northeastern region, he said.

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