SHILLONG: The Chief Minister, Dr Mukul Sangma on Friday said, “The legacy of Shillong as a centre of education in the region has to be restored and it is important for all concerned particularly the government to look at how education can be leveraged upon not just to provide quality education but utilise education as an instrument for generating the right kind of opportunities and spaces for job seekers.”
He was speaking at the valedictory function of the two-day International seminar on “Cross Border Connectivity & Inclusive Growth: Possibilities & Challenges with Special Reference to the North East Region” at Shillong College. The function also marked the closing of the year-long Diamond Jubilee Celebration of the college.
Sangma said that Shillong College had contributed to the overall growth and prosperity of the state and Shillong in particular. “Institutions are the instruments for effective collaboration and partnership with the government for the overall growth and development,” he said. He added that education invariably remains as the main instrument in bringing inclusive growth by empowering the people with knowledge, skill and wisdom.
He commented that the topic of the international seminar was befitting and relevant in the context of North East. He said that the country shared a long international boundary with other countries in the region and the challenge the country faced was that the borders had not been effectively taken advantage of for growth and prosperity of the region.
“This is one of the reasons that in spite of the potentialities in the midst of abundance we have the challenges of creating opportunities”, he said. He added that international borders should become borders of prosperity.
Dr Sangma further said that Meghalaya is positioned in such a way that the state has to take the lead role in promoting cross border connectivity. He added that connectivity was multi-pronged and the issue of cross border connectivity required more aggressive participation of all stakeholders and such seminars should be collectively captured, documented and articulated so that it resonated at the highest levels.