Biplab Kr Dey
Tura, Aug 26: The Garo Students Union (GSU), while taking a stock of the education scenario in the state has rued the lack of conviction by state authorities that has led to hardly anything of note being borne out of the region from the route of education. The NGO further questioned various aspects of education as well as the manipulation of loopholes being used by non-state residents to get quota seats meant for the indigenous of the state.
Earlier the KSU had raised a complaint of at least 11 non residents of the state pursuing education in specialized streams, showing how gross violations have taken place.
“This is a gross violation of the system meant for the indigenous people of the state. What is rattling is the fact that even the health minister, to an extent, acknowledged that loopholes or manipulation could have sieved through for non – permanent residents who have postured as permanent ones to take advantage of the quota and enter medical colleges. It is cringe worthy that they acquired documents from Ampati (SWGH) district and rendered themselves as permanent residents,” claimed Tengsak.
Calling the situation unacceptable, the GSU stressed that the fiasco needed to be nipped in the bud and the 11 non-indigenous students from outside seeking medical education surreptitiously through the State quota must be removed from the lists.
He added that the NEP may be good in ways to ensure all students have equal opportunities but the fact remains that many students of diverse educationally, socially and economically weaker sections of the communities still do not stand a chance to compete universally.
He referred to the CUET to make his point where students are expected to appear in far off places and societies unfamiliar to them on short notice when there is no guarantee of their safety.
“The context remains that universal exams held in different parts of India for colleges and universities do not help with random allotment of exam centres and students from outside of Meghalaya state coming to compete in Meghalaya itself violates the system meant to benefit the indigenous students. This is a mockery of the protective provisions of the Sixth Schedule and the roster system of the Job Reservation Policy. The exam centres for CUET must be held in the state itself,” felt the NGO leader.
Tengsak further pointed to the fact that questions are being raised over the fact that very few Garo students are passing DIET exams. He felt there was mistrust in the system, with some alleging the manipulation of the exams while others blame it on the poor quality of education being imparted in Garo Hills.
He further questioned the mass recruitment of doctors from outside the state which he said was another case of lost opportunities even in the light of the roster system which actually sought to ensure these opportunities remained within the state.
“It is accepted that specialist doctors with experience will be a gain but to simply recruit in droves from outside the state is not justified on the extreme end. It is also maddening that not even a single Garo BSc. Nursing students with necessary extra credentials exist to apply for MLHP in the state. This is the sorry state of affairs in Garo Hills. The much-vaunted Roster system is being mocked though unintentionally,” he rued.
“There has been resonating demands through the years that Garo Hills needs a more concrete education policy for better education foundation and we have been demanding technical and medical institutes along with specialized courses for Garo Hills. During a NESO meeting with a Union Minister we demanded an engineering college which was successful. In another such meeting with the Union Minister, Sarbananda Sonowal a Multi-Purpose Sports Complex was given to Garo Hills. While the engineering college building and the medical college remain incomplete, it is hard to define the existence of the proposed sports complex,” said GSU president, Tengsak G Momin.
He added that while things are improving, the pace at which it is improving is extremely slow.