Assembly panel inspects model schools in Garo Hills

TURA, May 6: The Estimate Committee of the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly, which includes MLAs Thomas Sangma, Marcuise Marak, Saleng Sangma, Marthon Sangma and Lazarus Sangma, is currently on a three-day tour to inspect the completion of the various model residential schools that were supposed to have come up in the Garo Hills region.
The tour, which began on May 4, saw the MLAs visit one of the incomplete schools in the village of Nengkalpara under Selsella C&RD Block. The project, as per information received, has been abandoned for the past five years.
One of the MLAs in the committee, Marthon Sangma further informed that a few more schools were inspected on Friday including the one in Siju in South Garo Hills, which too has been abandoned.
“A total of nine such schools were sanctioned in the year 2012, all of which have not been completed. What is surprising is that 8 out of the 9 projects were given to one person from Williamnagar in East Garo Hills (EGH) and not one project has been completed by them,” said Marthon when contacted.
Further, the MLAs added that upon questioning the concerned officers of the Education department, they were informed that about 70 per cent of the money had been sanctioned to the contractors concerned but the work still remained incomplete.
Model residential schools were sanctioned by the then Congress-led MUA government in 2012 with the contractual work being completed in 2014. Progress of the school building began, as per the officers, in the year 2015. However, all of these projects have not been completed and remain in the current state of abandonment.
The schools, at that time, had been launched with much fanfare and expected to be a game-changer for education in the state. However, its abandonment has been the source of much consternation.
The committee members stated that the contractor(s) have been instructed to complete the remaining work by December 2022.