By Benjamin Lyngdoh
The North Eastern Region District SDG Index published by NITI Aayog (2021) finds that Meghalaya is ranked at 7th position and only higher than Nagaland. Out of the 103 districts considered for ranking, the best performing district from Meghalaya is East Khasi Hills ranked at 57th position (best performing in NER is East Sikkim) and the worst performing is North Garo Hills at 98th position (worst performing in NER is Kiphire, Nagaland). All the 11 districts of Meghalaya were included in the assessment. Only East Khasi Hills is in the green (frontrunner) whereas the remaining districts are in the yellow (performer). Well, do not be misled by the term ‘performer’ as it is more akin to ‘below average’. Coming to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the state scored well in goal 8 (decent work and economic growth), goal 10 (reduced inequalities), goal 12 (responsible consumption and production) and goal 15 (life on land). It fared poorly in the more important goals such as no poverty, zero hunger, good health and well-being, quality education, gender equality, etc.
Now that it is established that Meghalaya fares poorly, where should the focus be? In the dynamics of development there are always ‘underlying factors’ that drive a society. These factors are responsible for the overall performance as concluded on the basis of certain parameters (such as SDGs). The argument here is that if we can focus on one or two factors, the rest will take care of themselves. One might say that no poverty and zero hunger are the most important factors. However, this is not entirely true as tackling poverty and hunger on a sustainable basis requires a focus on some other underlying factors. They are ‘education’ and ‘will of the people’. In actuality, this is where the focus should be. This is where we have to direct our resources, time and energy.
To start with, the focus should be on education. This point is so common that it has become mundane for many. But education is really the solution. For things to effectively workout we must take education in its actual sense. The issue is that people are largely confused between education and literacy. In a practical sense, they are not one and the same. Being literate does not necessarily mean that one is educated. Literacy in today’s world is measured in terms of a mark sheet that one possesses. A mark sheet is not a total reflection of a person’s capabilities. But we give too much importance to it. On the contrary, an educated person may not have any impressive mark sheet, but he/she may be the one who contributes the most to development. This should be the focus. To nurture educated people who are skillful, motivated and have the will power to bring change and progress. In an interaction with a young farmer at Laitkor (outskirts of Shillong city), what was striking was that his value as an educated person is more than the literates who hold very high literacy degrees. It was heart-warming to talk to him. Today, our worth is recognized not by how much we know, rather by how much we can do!
We have come across many educated youth who are now successful entrepreneurs. In the tourism sector, their initiatives and activities are just plain adorable. Here too, we can see how the educated ones (without high degrees) do very well. Once the Covid-19 pandemic subsides, we can expect to see more of the youth getting involved. In addition to this, there are other promising areas too for the motivated. One such area is competitive examinations. It is the inherent nature of the tribal youth to not want to leave their hometown for work. The ‘I will look for work only in my own city/town mentality’ still prevails. It is time to reverse this trend. In fact, the ones from Khasi hills do not even want to go to Garo hills for work. This is mostly true vice versa too. This is one of the main reasons as to why most of our youth do not want to try for all India competitive examinations like the Staff Selection Commission (SSC). The fear of being posted outside the state poses a deterrent. This cannot continue. The youth must be educated and motivated right from an early age to vie for such examinations for better livelihood prospects.
For the above to work, there is a need for edupreneurs. In Shillong, a number of centers are providing coaching for competitive examinations. However, this market has a far wider potential. Like-minded people/organizations can come together and initiate coaching centers. Some might argue that in the age of IT enabled learning through Ed-Tech companies like BYJUs, there is no need for such centers. Nonetheless, nothing can replace physical classroom interaction. Today, a number of youth from Meghalaya are going to Guwahati for coaching. These centers have tie-ups with reputed coaching centers from New Delhi. The same ‘value model’ can be leveraged here too. It is time to act now else Meghalaya will see an irreparable explosion of unemployment within 10 years. Look at the teaching sector as an example. The colleges in Meghalaya are filled up with young teachers. This means that there will be no/less vacancy in this sector. Against this, hundreds of students with NET/PhD pass out every year. Where will they be employed? To add to the problem, the private sector is not robust and the advent of artificial intelligence will make the teacher redundant. A similar problem exists in the other sectors (like hotels, retail, trading, manufacturing, etc) too.
Truly, the buck starts and ends with the ‘will of the people’. No, not the government! In Meghalaya we are habituated with looking at/blaming the government for everything. This has to stop. The government will function to the extent it pleases. The real onus and responsibility for development lies with the common people. It is time to be counted. The starting point is a sense of dedication and hard work. I believe many of us would have come across the common saying of the newly employed that ‘now that I have a secure job, my life is set and I can live in peace’. This is a wrong precept of one’s responsibility. Criminal you might add. In fact, once you land yourself a job your responsibility towards the society increases 10-fold. It calls for dedication and sincerity to serve. Unless we realize this, the condition of our state will never improve. The people in positions of power and authority must do justice to their positions. Plus, there is no job classified as big or small. Things will change only if we have a transformational mindset towards work and not a transactional one.
What we do every day must contribute towards the transformation of society. This is where the focus should be, especially at the brink of 50 years of Meghalaya!
(Email: [email protected]; the writer teaches at NEHU)