People’s College: Forgotten Legacy?

Morung Express News
Mokokchung | September 28

It is the only private college in the town and it is a legacy unto itself. But, People’s College in Mokokchung – which celebrated its Silver Jubilee, only last year – still struggles to make a name as an educational institution imparting quality education.

Started as a night college in the year 1984 to cater to the needs of employed people unable to attend day-college at Fazl Ali College (FAC), students were taught by a few FAC lecturers, voluntarily then. The funds for managing the college were donations from individuals and organizations, and grant-in-aid from the government.

With the passage of time, following development, and in tune with the changing times, the “night shift college” became a “day college” in 1994. However, a look into the present condition of the college depicts a sorry state-of-affairs. Even the principal of the college (who has been teaching in the college since 1985), is worried about the condition of the institution.

Interacting with The Morung Express in his office chambers, Principal N Alley disclosed that the college is still not ‘permanently affiliated’ with the UGC. The college is temporarily affiliated with the UGC, renewed every 3 years. However, the biggest concern is that under the “UGC (Affiliation of Colleges by Universities) Regulations 2009, a college should have ‘undisputed ownership and possession of land measuring not less than two acres if it is located in metropolitan cities and five acres if it is located in other areas’. “Non-affiliation would mean closing  down the college,” confessed N Alley, “and we are not sure whether we will get permanent affiliation under the new UGC rules.”

The present college stands on a plot measuring less than 2 acres. The building (a government quarter) was actually a Government High School boys’ hostel given by the government in 1993 after much negotiations. The college has enough land on the outskirts of the town, but infrastructural development is yet to take place. Alley disclosed that the meager salary for teachers, lesser than even the ‘previous UGC pay scale’, is discouraging lecturers from teaching students to the maximum. 

All the lecturers in the college are highly-qualified and experienced, Alley says. The students are also disciplined and sincere, bringing good results to the college for the past few years. The biggest concern is where the students would go, if the college by some chance under the new UGC regulations happens to close down. 

The principal said that every year, more and more students are passing from class X and 10+2 classes and more are searching for admission into degree courses. Many students are finding it nowhere to go as Mokokchung town has only two colleges.

The other college in Mokokchung is the government owned Fazl Ali College – which is now basking in some new-found glory. Just last year, Fazl Ali College celebrated its Golden Jubilee and was also accredited by the NAAC, making it the only accredited government college in the state. Even the college buses painted with the words - “Fazl Ali College Celebrates Fifty Years…” or “Celebrating fifty glorious years of Fazl Ali College” – move around the town with new-found pride. 

By this new-found glory has a little price to pay. “Now Fazl Ali College is accredited (by NAAC) and therefore it cannot take in all the students that come to the college, it has to maintain some certain standards; so ultimately the students have to come here (People’s College),” he says. “This is our college,” says N Alley, “Fazl Ali College belongs to the government. This is the only private college in the town; it is our pride and it is our responsibility to make it grow and make it into an institution that can compete with others, especially Fazl Ali College.”

Also, for some it is not only the prospect of closing down that is a concern, the quality of education imparted in the institution as well. A founder-member of the college, Dr Chubatola Aier, principal of Government College of Zunheboto was one among the FAC lecturers who taught voluntarily way back in the eighties when People’s College first started. She maintains that the people should start questioning whether the college is imparting quality education or not, and study the reasons behind it.

Dr Aier maintained that education has certain parameters and if an educational institution fails to fulfill the parameters education can turn out to be counterproductive. That is, the education imparted would not be positive but ‘negative education,’ harmful to the society. Quality education cannot be compromised with, she asserts. Dr Chubatola referred to a prediction that there would be a higher education crisis in India in the near future – the phenomenon of which is felt even in Nagaland. More and more are matriculating and higher secondary students pass out each year, and many find it difficult to get admission into good colleges.

“It is not only about supporting something, instead people should also start questioning whether the college is serving its purpose or not, so that a realization would creep into the minds of the people,” she maintains. But for now, Peoples’ College remains between two orbits – it is an institution which the public of Mokokchung cannot live without, and on the other hand, it is an institution which cannot simply remain a namesake private college. After all, hundreds of students still depend on the college for a university degree.