SHILLONG, Sep 12: Education Minister Lahkmen Rymbui on Tuesday blamed previous governments for the mess in the state’s education sector and criticised those opposed to the budgetary allocation plan of Rs 5,000 crore as a large chunk is spent on the salaries of the teachers.
He said the government is working on a three-pronged improvement of the sector – training and surety of teachers, curriculum and infrastructure and continuous monitoring.
On the low pass percentage in the SSLC and HSSLC exams, Rymbui said the Garo Hills region has been behind the Khasi Hills region with a 30-35% success rate.
He said the department formed a committee to study the poor performance in the Garo Hills. The government is trying to implement the recommendations of the panel despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Reacting to questions raised on the plight of the teachers, Rymbui said the quality of education is linked to the teachers and to achieve a good standard of education, the state requires trained teachers. This made the government take a decision on mandatory teachers’ tests, which the High Court of Meghalaya reaffirmed.
“No one thought of the mandatory teachers’ test before us,” he said, admitting that some teachers had to leave but more than 1,300 got regular jobs.
Hitting out at those accusing the government, he said: “We should not look at only one side of the story. It is easy for us to dramatize and shed crocodile tears but we forget that at some point, we have to take a decision. I am happy the court reaffirmed our decision.”
Stating that 2,500 teachers have been crying for regularisation since 1994, Rymbui asked why previous governments failed to ease their sufferings. “People are now saying they are on the streets but we have to look at how we can deliver,” he said.
He said the problem of the SSA teachers “is gigantic” but the government was not shying away from its responsibility.
Stating that the government is wary of four months’ salary due to the teachers, Rymbui said Meghalaya is the only state that received the first instalment of Rs 272.34 crore from the Centre. But the crediting the money in the state treasury got delayed due to the new PMS mapping guidelines that are yet to be synchronised with the state treasury, he added.
The Union Ministry of Finance offered a one-time exemption to Meghalaya for processing the instalment to be released as the teachers’ salaries on time, he said.
Rymbui said the government had allocated Rs 2,570 crore as the budget for the education department but Rs 2,177 crore had to be spent only on the salaries of the school teachers excluding the SSA teachers. “If the members are so concerned about education, they should bring a resolution in the House for an allocation of Rs 5,000 crore,” he said.
On infrastructure, he said the government has constructed more than 250 additional buildings while 208 secondary and higher secondary schools will be upgraded or constructed in the first phase. About 110 schools are targeted in the second phase.
On the brighter side, Rymbui said the Kiang Nangbah College, Tura Government College and Sohra Government College have been awarded NAAC accreditation this year due to the efforts of the department.
“Education is a complex issue. We will try to solve the problems raised in the House, but it cannot be done overnight,” he said, asserting the complexity of the education sector.
Reacting to Rymbui’s remarks, Trinamool Congress MLA George B Lyngdoh said he has been burdened by the challenges faced by the department.
He slammed the minister for not touching on the dismal ranking of the state, the termination of contractual teachers and the recent problems in Pine Mount School.
“There was frustration in the minister’s reply,” he said, wondering how the government can be so insensitive to its own citizens by denying them employment.
