Dr. Sylvanus Lamare is the Principal of St Edmund's College Shillong. He is a passionate educationist and has a Ph.D. in Socio-Linguistics. He is a former member of the Sahitya Akademi, NEZCC, and National Focus Group on the Teaching of Indian Languages. He is also the Consultative Member of NBT, India on programmes in Meghalaya and Consultative Member of CIIL, Mysore on Khasi, researcher on language, literature, culture and medicinal plants.

St Edmund's College Shillong

What is your philosophy of leadership and its implementation?

“Build leadership capacity by empowering students and educators to embrace an innovator’s mindset”

My philosophy is to take everyone on board and make decisions based on cumulative thinking. We offer ample opportunities to learn, grow and discover. I motivate the students and faculty to lead with a shared vision. Effectively communicating how our professional development, new initiatives, and instructional practices align with that shared vision.

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Do you have any plans on bringing curriculum changes at St Edmunds?

“Enhancing the existing curriculum with help of hands-on workshops and skill-based education? 

As an affiliated college, we need to follow the curriculum prescribed by NEHU. We include add-on courses like floriculture, clinical biochemistry, computer maintenance and biochemistry, mushroom cultivation for students. We also introduced several training sessions and organised more than 60 webinars. 

What are the various difficulties that the college is facing currently?

“A limited number of industries in the periphery of college is a worrisome issue”

We don’t have several industries around us to be able to train our students in a few specific sectors. Though we try our best, the lack of industries is a challenge in the process of imparting industry-relevant culture. Also, the biggest challenge is to keep pace with the rapid changes in technology and the difficulties in facilitating its reach in every corner of the nation.

What are the academic aspirations of the college for the next 10 years?

“To stay abreast with the revolution that NEP2020 would bring to this sector”

Our main objective is to fit into NEP2020. We need to cater to the demand that is given to us by UGC. Hence, our objective now is to find courses that can be beneficial to the students joining us. We are looking into a number of areas where we think that skilling the students will help them.

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What advice would you give the students undergoing academic difficulties due to the pandemic?

“Work with assurance, devotion, and vitality in the field of your interest”

My message for students is to not be disheartened by this situation. They must not lose their focus and keep working with dedication. Students are responsible for bringing social reform within a country. We should realize that the young individuals are the future residents of our nation and the influential pioneers of our country in the future.