Letters to The Editor

NAAC accreditation A section of colleges in the state shying away from going under the NAAC (National Assessment and Accreditation Council) evaluation process for their grading is something to worry about. The situation has come to the pass that the Directorate of Higher Education (DHE) had to issue show-cause notices to the principals of 88 colleges across the state, asking them why they stopped short of doing enough to get NAAC accreditation. (See the front-page report in the December 17, 2022, issue of The Sentinel).

According to sources, the Directorate has already made NAAC accreditation mandatory for all colleges in the state. Despite that, 88 colleges in the state have not moved for the NAAC evaluation process. The Directorate has given time till December 23, 2022, to the college principals to show cause as to why it should not take disciplinary action against them.

The NAAC grading determines the value of degrees offered by institutions of higher education. It also helps the colleges to get government aid and other grants. It is the responsibility of the institutes to apply for NAAC accreditation.

Most of the colleges in Assam underwent the NAAC evaluation process and achieved grades. According to The Sentinel report, NAAC evaluation parameters are —(i) teaching, learning and evaluation, (ii) research, innovation and extension, (iii) infrastructure and learning resources, (iv) students’ support and progression, (v) curricular aspects, (vi) governance, leadership and management, and (vi) institutional values and best practices. According to a source, the colleges that have not gone for the NAAC evaluation process say they require huge amounts of money o be ready for NAAC evaluation.

After the government waives admission fees and reimburses them to the colleges later, the colleges often do not get the reimbursement in time, and the colleges say that they often face a cash crunch. Some officials in the Directorate of Higher Education term that as a lame excuse. The moot question is: should those at the helm of affairs allow the 88 colleges to evade the NAAC evaluation process anymore? Topo Singha, Milan Nagar, Barbari, Guwahati Equal share The long-awaited and much-talked-about election results of Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh along with the MCD are out.

It is very interesting to note that all three major political parties, namely BJP, INC and AAP, equally shared the success of the election results. It was BJP in Gujarat, Congress in Himachal Pradesh and AAP in Delhi MCD. So, a very clear message to all political parties is not to take the choice of the electorates for guaranteed.

BJP’s loss in Himachal Pradesh is a pointer in this direction. There seemed to be no more MODI wave or factor. It is only the development factor which mattered as evidenced by the poll results of Himachal Pradesh and MCD poll results.

Dr Ashim Chowdhury, Guwahati. Jobs and self-employmentDespite having educational qualifications and skills, many youths in our state are not able to get employment in the government or private sector as expected. There is a lot of unemployment in the state.

We should all understand that jobs alone can never solve the unemployment problem. Apart from jobs, one can become self-employed by setting up small and large enterprises or businesses and providing employment opportunities to others. In this regard, government, non-government, voluntary organizations and student organizations should organize awareness meetings and workshops in all parts of the state to explain the various schemes of the Central and State Governments to the students and youth.

Also, details should be given about the financial institutions offering various types of loans. In addition, the public will also benefit if newspapers and magazines publish regular articles covering various aspects of ‘self-employment’ with social responsibility and public interest. It is expected that the unemployment problem will be reduced at least slightly if some youths choose the path of self-employment by realizing that they can earn a decent living by setting up small and large enterprises or doing business without government jobs.

It is worth mentioning that no one gets 100% satisfaction in his career. Someone may not be satisfied with the salary; someone may not be satisfied with the workplace or colleagues and so on. Those who are honestly working or doing business in the private sector should not feel inferior because they have not been employed in the government sector.

Furthermore, the interest of every person in society in any work will increase only if the mentality of not treating private sector employees and businessmen equally with government sector employees can be avoided. Entrepreneurs can earn their own income as well as provide employment opportunities to others. The income of the employee is limited but not that of the entrepreneur.

The more entrepreneurs try, the more their income increases and they can expand their work in new directions. Employees are always confined to the boundaries. Employees have fixed working hours for the day but in the case of entrepreneurs, there is no fixed time limit for work.

Dr Buljit Buragohain, Assam Don Bosco University, Airport Road, Azara. Being cautious against Covid It’s worrisome to see the sudden surge of Covid cases in China. Earlier, that country witnessed people marching on to the streets against strict Covid protocol and the government had to give in to the demand.

Now sudden easing of restrictions after three years of a zero-Covid policy saw the public forgetting all protocols and thereby resulting in surge of Covid cases. Many hospitals were unprepared to deal with the current surge of cases in many Chinese cities leading to pandemic panic once again. It’s high time we too learn a lesson or two from this.

Though vaccines and strict protocols helped our nation to harness Covid to a large extent, still there are Covid cases reported in some parts of the country. The surge in our neighborhood is definitely one to make us alert and be cautious. Let us not forget that if negligence and carelessness are shown then we have to pay a heavy price.

After the Omicron wave,earlier this year people were cautious and adhered to Covid protocol but when the cases dwindled and restrictions eased, we have completely forgotten those ‘dark days’ and are back to square one. No masks, no sanitisers, crowded celebrations, overcrowded markets and transportation. We have completely forgotten the ordeal we went through.

Let us not forget that the virus has not been wiped off fully and just the entrance of a new variant, a new strain of the fatal Corona virus can topsy turvy our normal life. The health ministry has to be vigilant and caution the people to be careful and take care because another round of this pandemic can be very fatal to the life of the people and the progress of the nation. Ignoring the virus and being irresponsible is equal to welcoming peril to oneself, the society and the nation as a whole.

M Pradyu Kannur. The culture of begging Begging has been ingrained in the roots of Indian society for ages. This sickening culture has become a fashion, a compulsion, a profession and even a kind of recreation in our country.

Beggars in India easily outnumber their ilk in other big countries. To Westerners, India is a land of mendicants. Beggars are found everywhere – on roads, crossings, footpaths, etc.

But their favourite hangouts are bathing ghats, temples, religious fairs, railway stations, trains and bus stands. It is a real nuisance to be confronted by street beggars in all places. Like the Almighty, they seem to be omnipresent.

You are waiting for a bus or walking down a road with your friends, and beggars suddenly appear from nowhere and start an endless volley of supplications until you give them a few coins out of sheer disgust and helplessness. The monstrous practice of begging cannot be eradicated from our society because there are millions living ‘below the poverty line’, yearning for a morsel of food. Unfortunately, very little has been done by our past and present governments to obliterate the social illness of begging.

Ranganathan Sivakumar, Chennai – 600091.