CM slams Centre’s edu policies

SHILLONG: Chief Minister Mukul Sangma has criticised certain policies of the central government which, according to him, are detrimental to the overall growth of the education sector in the State. Inaugurating the 26th annual conference of the Garo Hills Deficit Teachers’ and Employees Association (GHDTEA) at Ampati Multi Facility Centre on Monday, Sangma said that these policies looked like it was designed to benefit vested groups at the cost of the nation. He stated that the policies have to be designed in a way so that they benefit the stakeholders directly for the sake of nation-building and preparing the youth for future generations. However, he did not make clear the nature of anti-people policies of the Centre. In response to the various demands made by the association, the chief minister said the government has considered and responded to the grievances of teachers of the secondary and the higher secondary levels because the whole exercise for the particular group had been completed by the department. “We want each and every teacher to respond to the demand to prepare our children for the future and that is why we have responded,” he said. Emphasising on the need for optimal utilisation of available funds, Sangma informed that though the ADB had never supported any educational schemes in the past, the government had managed to convince them of the uniqueness of the government’s approach and how it could be adopted by other states. The chief minister, while admitting that there was a need to prepare and develop programmes to provide better education at the elementary level, said education was the only thing that made all other things to come in line