Shillong: “In Megh-alaya women play a vital role in society but they can do much more to promote better development indices considering there is a huge talent pool from among the educated women,” stated Meghalaya Governor Dr KK Paul while speaking at the Platinum Jubilee Celebration of St Mary’s College here on Saturday. Dr Paul was the chief guest at the function.
Pointing at Bangladesh and Sri Lanka which have made great strides in development, Dr Paul said this is because of women’s education.
Lauding St Mary’s College for 75 years of dedicated service to the cause of women’s education, Dr Paul said the college stresses on human values and character formation which are intrinsically woven in its education module.
“St Mary’s College should strive to create an equitable and knowledgeable society and mould the youth to become the leaders of tomorrow. This milestone should also help the College to reflect and prepare to achieve new horizons,” he said.
Reminding the audience of the motto of the College – knowledge and virtue, Dr Paul said the College also combines the human values of peace, love, justice and humanity even as the world is moving towards knowledge based societies and communities. St Mary’s College has struck a fine balance of all these characteristics which few institutions can achieve.
Meghalaya Chief Minister and guest of honour, Dr Mukul Sangma while addressing the students, faculty and alumni of the College said, St Mary’s College is much sought after and that in itself is a recognition of its premium brand with excellent innings of 75 years.
“Just as a single individual can bring transformative changes, so too one premier institution like St Mary’s College can transform society,” Dr Sangma said.
Stating that Shillong has been a centre for education in the region, the chief minister wondered if, “We have been able to take advantage of such labels.”
Pointing to the need for setting up more colleges across the State, Dr Sangma said the premier colleges of Shillong would not be able to admit all those who pass out every year unless equally good colleges come up in the district headquarters and beyond so his government is endeavouring to set up more colleges.
“Meghalaya is a small state and while that can be an advantage, small states are also allocated fewer resources to meet their requirements. But I am not insulating the Government from being more involved in assisting the existing colleges in Shillong. We need to explore all possibilities to support quality education,” Dr Sangma said.
The Chief Minister informed that the Asian Development Bank (ADB) would be providing assistance for physical infrastructure, teachers’ training and providing digitalised learning to students and also promote vocational training. This assistance will is being extended to the higher secondary level institutions and subsequently to the colleges. This would enable students to compete for employment in different parts of the country, he stated.
Drawing attention to the propensity of provincialised educational institutions to quickly lose their cutting edge, Dr Sangma gave the example of the school from where he passed out in Ampati, which he said was producing good results. “As soon as the school was provincialised it became a dumping ground for incompetent teachers. In the last 10 years the results have been pathetic. On the contrary missionary run institutions are able to maintain their high standards because they are insulated from politics,” Dr Sangma quipped.
He urged the students of St Mary’s College who go out to equip themselves with higher knowledge to come back to their roots and contribute to the society and the State. “We are fortunate to be born in this beautiful State. It depends on each one of us what we want to make of Meghalaya. Do we want peace and prosperity to prevail? If so each one of us should contribute to that,” Dr Sangma said. Archbishop of Shillong, Dr Dominic Jala said St Mary’s College has made a great impact on society and every student who passes out influences many others. “This College is run on Christian principles and we are proud to be part of this celebration even while the College journeys towards its centenary. Earlier the Principal of St Mary’s College, Sr Mary Harriet welcomed the dignitaries and invitees and also informed the audience that the College was accredited A Grade by NAAC in 2005 and 2011.
Alumni who have achieved excellence in their respective professions were felicitated on the occasion.