Shillong, Jan 11: Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma has said that the state government is not forcing colleges to be affiliated with the Captain Williamson Sangma State University, which will be inaugurated on January 13.
He however made it categorically clear that there will be no exemption from the Common University Entrance Test (CUET) for colleges, which continues to be affiliated with the North Eastern Hill University (NEHU).
Speaking to media persons at the sidelines of the cabinet retreat, Sangma said, “Many people have also asked me this that the colleges have received (communication) from the state university asking them if they wish to affiliate with the state university. I would like to clarify to the colleges and the citizens at large that colleges have to affiliate to a university but it is their choice if they want to affiliate to NEHU or they would like to affiliate to USTM or they would like to affiliate to Captain Williamson Sangma State University.”
“There is no compulsion for anybody to affiliate to Caption Williamson Sangma State University. We are giving you the option to affiliate to us. What happens when you affiliate to us? The only and the biggest advantage is that you will be working with the state government and not with the Centre in terms of the different requirements that are there for affiliation so you will be with the state government and the state government will look at the local condition and will give the affiliation so it is much easier process and it is more accessible,” he explained.
Stating that there will be no CUET exemption from next academic session for Meghalaya, Sangma said, “What is more important is that the colleges, who continue to affiliate to NEHU, they will have to or the students, who are seeking admission to colleges affiliated to NEHU will have to give the CUET examinations. So next year when the academic session takes place, if a particular college is still affiliated to NEHU, if the students come and request me to exempt them from CUET, I will not be able to do that anymore because the pretext for our exemption was that we did not have a state university.”
He also added, “We were the only state in the country which does not have a state university and that happens because we have NEHU and we never felt the need in the past that it was required.
When CUET came up, we immediately felt the need to have a state university and that is why we have written to the colleges that if they wish or desire to affiliate with us, affiliate and if you wish to continue with NEHU please continue, we are not forcing you it is completely your decision but as I said CUET exemption will not be there.”
