Priyana Bora

Chandmari

lA good education is a blessing and attaining it a life?s mission. Nowadays, when we see students from Guwahati and other places in Assam aspiring to higher education in Delhi, Bangalore, Pune and other cities, one question that frequently arises is, why is it so? The immediate answer that springs to mind is the very limited number of seats in the lone engineering and medical colleges in the city.

Therefore, it will indeed be a great blessing for our students if private medical and engineering colleges are established in the city. For that matter, why only medical and engineering colleges, I suggest even other professional colleges, too, be allowed to open in Guwahati so that more students from the state get a fair chance of realising their dreams.

Not only will then the exodus of the students stop but the trend reversed, with top-notch institutions attracting students from all corners of the region and beyond. But the standards of the private colleges need to monitored closely so that a thriving academic atmosphere can be maintained. I hope Guwahati will soon turn into that dream destination for students. Maybe then we can attract even students from neighbouring countries like Bhutan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Myanmar.

Rheetuparna Sarmah

Borsajai

lThis is indeed a dicey proposal, especially, in these days when the entire post-intermediate education scenario is growing and changing like never before. It is not that simple, predicting that the entry of private institutions will stop the exodus of students. The lack of private institutions is not always the cause of such a huge migration of students every year.

As they say, ?The distant moon looks much prettier till you land up there to find that the Earth was better!?. The hype and the hope of studying abroad just for the sake of going abroad force the parents (especially the middle and the affluent classes) to send their children to bigger and distant cities. Though, most of the times their hopes are fulfilled and the holes in their bank balances fill up, yet the grass is not always greener the other side.

Moreover, the success ratio of institutions grooming students in the two most sought after careers, namely medicine and engineering, are completely contradictory as regards the nature of their management. While the private engineering colleges have a better success ratio than their government counterparts, the medical education scenario is just the opposite where government institutions have an upper hand.

On the other hand, it is also equally true that generally, private institutions do provide a better option for the students due to their professional management. Moreover, recruiters too, tend to overlook government institutions giving the private ones the foremost preference. Needless to say that there are some exceptions but, as the saying goes, exceptions prove the rule.

Finally, I would like to add that the entry of private institutions would to a certain extent arrest the exodus of students. It may not affect the affluent class but to others it would definitely be a welcoming change provided they deliver quality education and admit students solely on the basis of merit.

Rupa Sahu

Rupnagar

lYes, indeed we can give a thought to the suggestion. We have only one engineering college and one medical college, apart from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT). In these colleges, only the best stand a chance to make their entry. The less meritorious fail to grab a seat in the engineering and medical colleges. So, devoid of any option, they have to head for other cities in the country.

The city, too, can house some private medical and engineering colleges to meet the demand for seats. Private colleges in other parts of the country are doing a good job. So the city, too, can open its gates for the entry of private colleges. But one thing should be ensured that these colleges maintain good academic standards.

Many a student loses huge amounts of money while staying and studying in other parts of the country. We can minimise the expenditure if private colleges were allowed in the city.

It is high time the government took the matter seriously and allowed the entry of private colleges into the city.

Saba Ahmed

Nabagraha Path

lLet us be more matured and allow the entry of private medical and engineering colleges into the city to give the students a chance to study their chosen subjects. The city has only one medical and one engineering college and they simply cannot accommodate enough applicants.

Many have a wrong notion that private colleges offer substandard education. This is not true. The private colleges in different parts of the country are offering good education to students. Once the private colleges come to the city, the government should make it mandatory that they must provide quality education to the students.

Binay Das

Uzan Bazar

lI support the entry of private colleges in the city, which still has only one medical college and one engineering college.

In such a situation, it is not possible to accommodate all the deserving students.

So the entry of good private colleges should be allowed for the benefit of the student community.