Guwahati: Assam chief secretary Ravi Kota on Friday asked universities to prepare institution-specific plans with clear priorities, milestones and timelines for higher-education reforms.Kota spoke after chairing a meeting with university authorities and senior higher education department officials to advance the “28 Action Points” from the 5th National Conference of Chief Secretaries, held on the theme “Higher Education: Knowledge Economy”.“The discussion examined priorities that will shape the next phase of higher education in Assam—strengthening institutions and faculty, advancing research and innovation, deepening industry-academia partnerships, expanding skill-based learning, accelerating digital transformation, developing future-ready curricula and advancing the reforms envisaged under NEP 2020,” Kota wrote on ‘X’.The meeting also reviewed efforts to widen participation in higher education, including improving the gross enrolment ratio (GER) in states below the national level.Kota said the plans should move beyond compliance and deliver improvements in institutional capacity, academic quality and student outcomes. The university-level plans would feed into a coordinated state-level approach and be reviewed regularly.He said Assam’s expanding higher-education landscape, including new universities, improved infrastructure and growing institutional capacity, should translate into greater access, stronger academic and research capabilities, relevant skills and more opportunities for young people.“A strong and future-ready higher education system will be central to building Assam’s human capital and positioning the state as a contributor to India’s emerging knowledge economy,” Kota added.
