SHILLONG, June 14: The state government would conduct an in-depth study to find out the reasons behind the alarming dropout rate at the secondary school level and come up with possible solutions.
Adviser to the Education Department, HM Shangpliang said the dropout rate of about 21%, the highest in the country according to an analysis, is a matter of concern for Meghalaya.
“We can get an answer by conducting an in-depth study. Education Minister (Rakkam A. Sangma) has already issued directions to the department’s officials in this regard,” he said on Wednesday.
Some 20,000 dropped out of classes 10 and 11 during the 2020-2022 period, Shangpliang said.
Failure in the SSLC examination or the inability to pursue education due to poverty could be the reasons for dropping out, he said.
“The report said there is a considerable drop in attendance even in classes 1 and 2. This calls for a thorough study,” he said.
Shangpliang also said that the government would adopt the New Education Policy 2020 soon.
The NEP would be customised to favour the conditions of the state and the education minister has already given directions to constitute a committee for drafting the Meghalaya Education Policy, he said.
Shangpliang said that while drafting the policy, the committee would try to adopt favourable projects or schemes from the national policy to suit the schools and colleges in the state.
“We are going to give more emphasis on vocational education and skill development from classes 8 to 12 in this new policy so that our children not keen on pursuing higher studies can pick up some skills for a livelihood,” he said.
“We are also aware that there is a shortage of higher secondary schools in the state. While there are 1,462 secondary schools, we have only 386 higher secondary schools,” Shangpliang said.
The higher secondary schools are too few to accommodate students after the secondary level, he pointed out.
“We would appeal to all the managing committees of secondary schools to request the government to open higher secondary schools,” he said.
The government would also be advised to encourage private institutes to upgrade to the higher secondary level for creating more space for the children.
“In the absence of such opportunities, there is a likelihood that our children may drop out after matriculation,” Shangpliang said.
He admitted that the government has been facing a challenge in repairing many schools in poor shape and providing additional classrooms.
“Then there are schools that need more teachers. The data have been compiled for taking up measures at the earliest,” he said.
Shangpliang also warned of action against teachers for not attending classes and taking their job seriously.
“The department is aware of instances where teachers do not attend classes or use proxies, who are mostly untrained, to do their job for a monthly payment,” he said.
The department has prepared a list of such teachers for disciplinary action, he added.
He further said that the department is coming up with a system for monitoring the attendance of teachers.
“It is not intended to keep tabs on the teachers only. We would like to see how many children come to school, how they are being taught,” he said.
The department is also aware that many schools are short of teachers, Shangpliang said. “The minister has directed the appointment of more than 1,000 contractual teachers immediately,” he said.
“We are aware that there are candidates who passed their MTET written exams but their interviews were not conducted. The interviews of such candidates would also be organised soon,” he said.
Improving the performance of many schools in the Garo Hills region is also among the major objectives of the department, he said.
