Aizawl: The Mizoram Assembly unanimously passed a bill on Tuesday to establish the state’s first government-run university.
The Mizoram State University Bill, 2025, introduced by State Higher and Technical Education Minister Vanlalthlana, aims to meet the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020’s guidelines to create a teaching-intensive university that will affiliate colleges within 15 years of the policy’s implementation.
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Vanlalthlana explained that Mizoram University (MZU), a central university, will convert into a research-intensive institution by 2035, limiting the existing 21 state colleges from affiliating with it.
He noted that the NEP recommends two types of colleges, autonomous degree-granting and constituent colleges, but only three out of the 21 colleges in Mizoram qualify to apply for autonomy.
The rest would need to seek affiliation from universities outside Mizoram, which he described as an embarrassment for the state.
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He stated the need for a teaching-intensive state university to grant affiliation to the remaining colleges and provide more opportunities for students to pursue postgraduate courses, as MZU has limited seats.
Once established, the state university would include all state-run colleges as constituent colleges, while private colleges could become affiliated.
The new university, which will initially be based in Aizawl, will also help increase the Gross Enrolment Ratio in higher education and vocational education, as targeted by the NEP.
Vanlalthlana added that the university would operate under a cluster model, combining various colleges and institutions within a single framework.