SHILLONG: The state government is trying its best to formulate an education policy within six months, Chief Minister Conrad Sangma said here on Wednesday.
Sangma, while speaking at the convocation of the Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts of India University Meghalaya (ICFAI) University, said the education sector is the top priority of his government and “this is the reason why maximum budget in the budgetary allocation is for education this year”.
“The government is determined to ensure that education moves forward in the state,” he said.
The government has allocated Rs 969.64 crore to the education sector, the second highest after community and rural development.
On the importance of entrepreneurship, Sangma said the government has earmarked a corpus of Rs 4 crore for specific development programmes.
Talking about the need for giving fillip to the food processing industry in the state, the chief minister said there are so many products which need value addition to fetch a better price in the market.
“With the change in the environment, change in global trends going towards organic food, I think there is a huge scope for our region and especially Meghalaya, where we can really excel in organic as well as in value addition of food processing,” he added.
‘Degree not an end’
Governor Ganga Prasad, who was also present at the programme, said the day marked the culmination of a journey for students where “their hard work and dedication have led them to such a moment of delight”.
“Never look at this degree as an end but a beginning to a new form of education as you enter the threshold of pursuing a career of your choice and as per the qualification you have attained,” he said.
The governor, who is also the visitor of the university, congratulated ICFAI for receiving the ‘Best University in Meghalaya” award for the year 2017, given by the Corporate Council for Leadership and Incredible India Foundation at the Indian Education Leadership Summit and Award, New Delhi.
Over 500 students of the university were conferred with various degrees at the convocation.
