Editor,
Election time is approaching and our politicians are busy buying votes. Our voters tend to forget the hardships we endured because of the so-called politicians’ lack of accountability while they are preoccupied with lining their coffers. Our politicians frequently switch parties to deceive voters who support them in hopes of bringing about change, but they forget that they are the same people who, when they held office, did nothing to address the problems. The same politician fails to bring the State university, Inner Line Permit (ILP), Policy for job reservation in the private sector, the inclusion of Khasi language in the 8th Schedule of the Constitution, India, employment for the youths, etc which are imperatives.
The government has also failed in its efforts to regulate private universities because the majority of the mushrooming institutions lack the facilities and requirements necessary to qualify as universities.
Our politicians are clueless when it comes to the education sector, so instead of making changes, the government is busy planning festivals that will not improve the educational scenario but instead encourage youth to engage in activities that will reduce their ability to compete in competitive exams.
The only way to solve all of these issues is for the public to vote responsibly; refuse to be duped by dishonest politicians, and be politically conscious since politics will shape and define our future.
Yours etc.,
Kenneth Nongsiej,
Via email
BJP President’s statements absurd
Editor,
Apropos of the news, “CM may contest 2023 elections from South Tura” (ST November 21, 2022) reading between the lines of this news, the statement of Mr Ernest Mawrie, BJP President Meghalaya on November 16, 2022 that “Chief Minister Conrad Sangma is aware of the rising popularity of Bernard Marak and is scared of losing the peoples’ mandate in Tura is without substance. Also the statement that people of Tura and the State have already made up their minds to oust the NPP government in the upcoming election” is absurd. I call it absurd because the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance is not that of the NPP alone. The BJP is also a partner in this Government. Secondly, the statement is not factual and clearly shows that the BJP President is not in touch with the ground realities. WR Kharlukhi, Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha and NPP State President has rightly stated that “BJP is trying to create something out of nothing just to project Bernard as a contender which he is not.” This creation of “something out of nothing” by the BJP President can be best explained by the following facts.
In the 2018 General Election to the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly from 51 – South Tura ST Constituency Agatha Sangma (now Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha, 2 Tura Constituency) contested the election and garnered 6,499 votes and won by a margin of 1603 votes against her rival Billykid A Sangma who secured 4896 votes. Bernard N Mark who also contested the election then was in the 6th position securing 1560 votes. Strangely Bernard N Marak, now Member, Garo Hills District Council never contested the bye-election which Conrad K Sangma, the present Chief Minister of Meghalaya won by a margin of 8,421 votes against his rival Charlotte W Momin who secured 5,235 votes. Conrad Sangma garnered 13,656 votes by winning from all the 36 polling stations of 51 South Tura ST Constituency. The winning margin of Conrad K Sangma compared to the votes secured by Bernard N Marak is 4.4 times more while the votes he secured is 87.54 times more than the votes secured by Marak. Given these facts and figures, the statement of the BJP President, Meghalaya is indeed bizarre.
Yours etc.
V K Lyngdoh,
Via email
Pathetic condition of roads
Editor,
Through the columns of your esteemed daily I would like to draw the attention of the concerned authorities to the pathetic condition of the roads in our state. In many localities, such as in Golf Links, Nongmensong, etc the roads are ridden with potholes. Vehicles have to halt after some seconds to adjust with the road so people cannot drive their vehicles smoothly and often this leads to accidents. During the rainy season, this situation just gets worse as people cannot find a safer way to move ahead while driving and their vehicles are stuck in the potholes.
Some roads are so badly damaged that they need to be re-constructed while others need to be repaired immediately. Therefore, as a resident of the above locality, I request the authorities to take immediate action so that people are not inconvenienced and also their vehicles do not get caught in the potholes.
Yours etc.,
Prasenjit Dey,
Via email
A parent’s concerns
Editor,
It is the month of November when examinations are scheduled in the KJP Synod Mihngi Higher Secondary School Jowai. As a concerned parent, I would like to bring to light that the Physical Training (PT) classes, which are usually held every Friday of the week, have not been held for a while now according to my child. However, in the time table framed for the final examination of classes VIII and IX, PT exam has been included. The question that arises here is how will teachers be able to assess and allot marks when there were no PT classes for the whole year? Now, apart from the PT exams, the school also has periods allocated for Socially Useful Productive Work (SUPW) and the teacher assesses such work at the end of the annual exams. Here, students normally display their creativity in turning something useful out of waste materials brought from home. Such activities are usually done in school under the supervision of a teacher. This year, however, it was announced that the students have to complete their SUPW at home and bring them to school. It is doubtful if students will learn anything this way. Also, it is important to note that this particular class is their only chance to understand the value of working with their two hands.
Lastly, I still have one more child in this school; the others have passed out a while back. So far, there has not been a single parent’s meeting called by the school, which in my opinion is rather strange especially in the post-pandemic world. As information spreads rapidly along with rumours in this day and age, it is good for the school authorities to interact with parents to dispel unnecessary rumours about the school. I therefore request the concerned authorities to convene a parents’ meeting so that every parent can share their views and be kept abreast of the functioning of the school.
Yours etc.,
A Concerned Parent,
Name withheld on request