Delhi, July 4 : Conrad Sangma, Chief Minister of Meghalaya, has requested Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan to issue necessary directions to the Ministry of Education and National Testing Agency (NTA) to conduct a special CUET examination for those students of Meghalaya who have missed the said examination due to allotment of CUET examination centres outside the State.
In a tweet, Sangma said that the government of Meghalaya has also requested the Government of India to consider setting up CUET centres in all 12 districts of the state in institutions which possess adequate infrastructure and testing facilities for CUET examination.
“For immediate attention of the Government, we have suggested that the CUET centres be set up in Shillong, Tura, Jowai, Nongstoin and Williamnagar which will cover the other adjoining districts,” Sangma said.
The CUET is a national-level entrance exam for undergraduate admissions to central universities and colleges. However, many students from Meghalaya were unable to take the exam due to the lack of CUET centres in the state.
Sangma said that the government of Meghalaya is committed to ensuring that all students in the state have access to quality education. He urged the Union government to take necessary steps to conduct a special CUET examination for the students of Meghalaya who have missed the exam.
During his interaction, he mentioned about the frequent problems faced by Teacher Training Institutions in the State for uploading of documents as required and mandated by NCTE. He also highlighted the glitches in the NCTE website which always reflects error.
He also informed that the Government of India has been kind enough to establish a premier institution of North East Regional Institute of Education (NERIE) in the State of Meghalaya which has a present intake of only 50 students for B.Ed Courses for the entire North Eastern region. However, he also pointed out that very few seats have been allocated to the aspiring students of Meghalaya as compared to students hailing from other States. CM Conrad also requested to explore the possibility of increasing the enrolment capacity at NERIE, Meghalaya so that aspiring students from all States in general and Meghalaya in particular can have an access for undergoing courses at NERIE which is a premier institution.