Our Correspondent
Kohima | November 28
The Nagaland state government today submitted a memorandum to the visiting 15th Finance Commission delegation, putting emphasis on the state’s education sector. Officials of the 15th FC, led by Nand Kishore Singh are currently in Kohima for a 3 day visit to the state.
The memo while lamenting that no regional or national institutions worth mentioning have been established in the state since its inception, informed that Nagaland has only one central university, one ICAR and one NIT. The State does not have even a single medical or engineering college.
The memorandum stated that coupled with the meager central funds released, the centre has also not ensured rationalized distribution of regional and central institutions among the states of the region. It felt that the GoI should take steps to ensure that development activities are distributed equally to all states.
Rs 1200 Cr spend on edu outside Nagaland
The memo informed that due to the lack of higher education institutes in the state, more than 50% of students pursue further studies in other parts of India.
“This includes general studies as well as technical studies. It is estimated that more than 50,000 Naga students are studying outside the state; of which about 10,000 are in Shillong, 20,000 in Delhi, 15,000 in Bengaluru and 7,000 in Kolkata,” the memo said, adding that the total annual expenditure is an estimated Rs. 1200 crores. Consequently, it said that there is no retention and circulation of money within the state.
The state government however claimed that the state has made “impressive gains” in the field of education despite shortage of physical and human infrastructure. Adding to the reported 79.55% literacy rate, the government also touted the GPS mapping of all schools in the state which was undertaken recently.
Rs. 720 crores required for constructing 5 schools
The memo meanwhile pointed out that Rs. 720 crores will be required for construction of 5 high schools in each of the 12 districts @Rs. 12 crore per school.
It added that most government school buildings here were constructed during the first few years of the state’s inception, leaving them in a dilapidated state now. It informed that 15 school buildings are 50 years old and above and 230 school buildings (40- 50 years old) need major repair. Further it was revealed that 383 school buildings are 30-40 years old; 642 are 20-30 years old; 481 are 10-20 years old; and 162 are below 10 years old. All these require repair and timely maintenance.
The memo informed that the annual cost requirement for maintenance and repairs is Rs. 40 crores.
