Captain Williamson Sangma University to become Meghalaya’s 1st State-run University

Staff Reporter

Shillong, March 17: The State Cabinet has approved the setting up of State University to address the challenges faced by the students relating to the Common University Entrance Test (CUET).

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Informing this after the meeting, Cabinet Minister and Spokesperson of the MDA government Paul Lyngdoh said the Captain Williamson Sangma Technical University (Amendment) Bill will be placed on the table of the House to make it a Captain Williamson Sangma State University.

“(This was after) the cabinet today took up the matter of establishing its first state run university which means that fundamentally we decided to bring this to the cabinet in order that the Captain Williamson Sangma Technical University now will become the Captain Williamson Sangma State University,” he said.

“And since this is the first state university, we will offer courses in higher education, in the field of humanities, commerce, general science, engineering, physical sciences, life sciences, technologies and related matters,” he added.

Stating that the proposal has been okayed by the law department, the finance department and the personnel department, Lyngdoh said, “Our efforts now will be to try and strengthen the various departments so that this university becomes a success story.”

The Captain Williamson Sangma Technical University was set up at Tura, West Garo Hills District in 2011.

Lyngdoh said, “Well there are always more than two ways of looking at things. That is your perspective, that is your opinion. The opinion of the majority is that in order to not be bound by a certain regulation, let’s have a state university. So that’s democracy. You don’t see thing your way only.”

On the state university set up, the spokesperson said, “We have already passed and adopted a cabinet memo to change the technical university into a state university. What comes next is the infrastructure, the support, the technical staff, the faculty. These will fall in place once the Act is adopted.”

He however admitted that the space available will not suffice for setting up of the state university and said, “We have to go on an expansion mode and with today’s technology everything is possible.”

Lyngdoh also informed that once the state university is made functional, affiliation of colleges will also happen.

At present, almost all the colleges across the state are affiliated with the North Eastern Hill University (NEHU).

The cabinet minister said, “The only hitch here is that you already have a technical university at Tura so transferring it to Shillong will again take so much time. So in order to immediately have a state university you convert this technical university into a state university so that you do away with all the challenges that you have just mentioned CUET and all.”

Meanwhile, Commissioner & Secretary in-charge Education BDR Tiwari informed that the timeline for students to enroll for the CUET has been extended to March 30 instead of March 12.

“At present that is the status,” he said when responding to a query on the status of the government’s request for exemption of Meghalaya from the conduct of the CUET.

In addition, the cabinet minister requested the need to allow the new government to tackle the issue.

“Moreover a new government has just taken over so let the new government tackle so let the new education minister tackle. You are talking of something which happened in the previous tenure. Now a new Assembly has been elected, a new cabinet has taken over,” he said adding “The CM has mentioned the moment he took over which is not even a week now. So let the new government pursue the matter.”

Women share experiences at Women’s Day event celebrated in Meghalaya’s capital city

Staff Reporter

Shillong, March 12: The Junior Chamber International (JCI) Shillong Pinecity celebrated Women’s Day at Prime Hub Meghalaya yesterday where women’s health and well – being were the main themes of the event.

Three accomplished women were invited to speak as guests as a part of the subject which included Shaidalin Marbaniang, a renowned female entrepreneur who makes completely compostable sanitary napkins, Dr. Jagjeet Sethi, a renowned dermatologist from Hope Clinic, Shillong, and Dr. Kerlin Mihsill, a renowned gynaecologist from Hope Clinic, Shillong.

The three notable speakers shared their personal and professional life experiences and well as their vision for women folk.

In addition to Dr. Sethi and Marbaniang educating the audience about women’s hygiene, well-being, and strategies to deal with medical issues, Dr. Mihsill gave a presentation on improving women’s health. The presentation was followed by an open forum where members and other guests put up questions which the speakers provided better understanding about the health and wellbeing of women.

It may be noted here that JCI Shillong Pinecity is the local branch of Junior Chamber International (JCI), a global non-profit organisation dedicated to developing young, engaged citizens and leaders. JCI operates by empowering its members to make a good, long-lasting difference in their local communities.

From shop keeping to becoming a knitting entrepreneur- The story of Malpleasha Mylliemngap

Shillong | March 8, 2023
Malpleasha Mylliemngap, is a mother of 5 who hails from Laitkroh, East Khasi Hills, Meghalaya. Prior to taking up knitting garments as a full fledged business activity, her main source of livelihood was through shop keeping. Knitting was only a hobby before she took it up as a livelihood activity.
It was on days when her shopkeeping business was very low that she started knitting boots for babies through which she received many other orders because of the unique designs and quality products. Soon after, she also got orders for knitted scarves and shawls. Through her undivided commitment and perseverance, more orders came in for knitted caps, socks, purses, hoodies and dresses. She extensively relied on YouTube tutorials to learn different techniques and designs.
She also started a knitting class at the cost of five hundred rupees (₹500/-) per person where she provides training to the youth not only to upskill them but for employment generation. She has created a name for herself in her village and her daughter who is also a nurse makes time amidst her busy schedule to learn her mother’s craft.
Malpleasha wishes to expand her business and be able to be completely depend on it for her daily sustenance. As the knitting process is a tedious one that requires a lot of time and patience along with skills, it was a challenge for her to complete all orders on time because she did not have additional skilled manpower to help her. She also struggles with the lack of readily available and cheaper wool. The wool that she uses is bought from Shillong which is approximately 25km from her village.
Her enthusiasm for knitting led her to get identified under the PRIME Sauramandala Rural Entrepreneurship Programme (PSREF), a project under PRIME Meghalaya. Now she also hopes to come up with an official brand name for her products and also be financially able to purchase machines to produce uniform products. She was able to make the most use of support provided to her as part of the PRIME programme that helped her realize her potential.
This article has been featured in collaboration with PRIME Entrepreneurship Meghalaya. To know more about PRIME, visit: https://www.primemeghalaya.com/