SHILLONG, July 8: The state government is laying emphasis to revamp elementary education in Meghalaya and has come up with a roadmap to invest in early childhood education programmes.
This was informed by Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma during the inaugural programme for the new building of the Directorate of Education Research and Training (DERT) – Annexe at Malki, Shillong.
According to a statement, an estimated amount of Rs 8.33 crore has been spent on the construction of the DERT.
Speaking on the occasion, the chief minister said, “The government has been making investments to overhaul the education infrastructure and teachers training at the grassroots level to ensure an enabling environment for learning.”
Informing that Meghalaya is among the few states in India where an early childhood education programme has started, Conrad said the objective of early childhood education is to ensure that the learning capabilities of the child are tapped to its optimum potential.
Talking about performance of the children in higher examinations, the chief minister said that the problem lies in the lack of quality education at the pre and elementary level. “Hence the government’s mechanism to provide holistic education from early childhood,” he said.
According to the chief minister, the government has earmarked Rs 300 crore from externally aided projects to make investment in early childhood education programmes.
He said that different interventions will be made through the programme to ensure that a child grows up in an environment where the entire learning exercise is productive.
Talking about the institute, the chief minister said, “At DERT, we will not be just training teachers but we shall work together to ensure the larger interest of the State to shape the future of our children and the State.”
“Through this institute, we will ensure that the young students of our state get the right platform to unleash their learning capabilities and, in turn, take Meghalaya forward,” he added.
Others who were part of the programme include Education Minister Lahkmen Rymbui and local MLA Ampareen Lyngdoh.
