Three years ago, in September 2014, a proud Laltlanmawia told his mother that he was poised for a career in the hospitality industry after he was selected by by Mizoram Youth Commission (MYC) and Labour, Employment & Industrial Training Department to attend a “college in Kolkata.” 

“I was one of the 32 students who went to the Nalanda Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS) in Salt Lake area of Kolkata. I enrolled for a degree in hotel management,” Laltlanmawia said in a telephonic interview with ScoopWhoop News.  

As soon as he landed in Kolkata, he knew something was amiss. 

“When we arrived at the institute, we were disappointed with the size of the classes. Even our faculty was very disappointing. Half of the teaching posts weren’t filled and classes wouldn’t take place for half of the semester,” Laltlanmawia, who returned to Aizawl in February 2016, said. 

He soon realised that some of their faculty members didn’t have any specialization in the courses they were teaching. 

Soon, about a dozen of the Mizo students “handpicked” by the government to attend this “prestigious” college, came back. 

“Around ten students left in 2015. I left in 2016, when I discovered that this fake college was not affiliated to a university even,” Laltlanmawia said.

None of the numbers listed on the Nalanda Institute of Advanced Studies website work. 

“Most administrative staff have been asked to keep their official numbers switched off,” Laltlanmawia said. 

Apparently, the government gave the institute Rs 1.25 crore to educate these students. 

“It’s a big scam,” he said.  

President of Aizawl City College Joint Students’ Union, Zodinsanga, says the Mizoram government should take responsibility for these 32 students. 

“The government should have crosschecked before sending these bright students to a fake college. How did they even let this happen?” he said. 

 Zodinsanga said that the students had spoken about their plight on several occasions with government officials, the Labour minister and even the Chief Minister, but to no avail. The students’ union has approached the government a number of times  over the past year with the complaints. 

“But government officials accused them of bad behaviour and impudence instead of helping them,” Zodinsanga said. 

On Monday, the Aizawl City College Joint Student’s Union (ACCJSU) along with all major students’ bodies in the state held a rally to protest the government’s stand, reports North East Today. The students said that their intention was not to harm or embarrass the government, but to fight for their rights.

When ScoopWhoop News called the  Labour, Employment & Industrial Training Department office of the Mizoram government, Benjamina, a secretary, refused to speak about the issue.