By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Oct 14: The Congress has criticised the state government over how it is handling the education sector and suggested that it should adopt a strategic outlook rather than relying solely on technological interventions.
According to state government data, basic amenities such as electricity, library and toilets can still be found wanting in most schools.
“It is nothing new…Our budgetary allocation for education is measly. Without properly mapping population, we have been opening schools at the behest of MLAs whose purpose is to win votes,” Meghalaya Pradesh Congress Committee general secretary, Manuel Badwar said.
He said the state has over 8,000 schools (official figures suggest it is 14,600) and there are 50,000-60,000 children seeking school for the first time.
“So, what we have is an overstretched infrastructure which seems to focus more on the number of schools. It is a ratio of hardly 5 students per school. There is a dire need to overhaul the infrastructure,” Badwar stressed.
Suggesting on a local-centric policy which focuses more on building sustainable steps, he said, “We need some really strong political will to change this and not just a wannabe mentality in chasing technology when we don’t have the basics. It’s a deep-rooted problem.”
As many as 2,658 schools in the state do not have toilets for girls, according to the data for 2021-22 financial year available on the dashboard of the Department of School Education and Literacy.
A large number of the schools also lack facilities such as library, power connection. Only 53 per cent of the schools have access to drinking water.
Around 62 per cent of them do not have hand washing facilities and 71 per cent of them do not have any medical facilities.
According to the dashboard, the state has 14,600 schools – 7,783 government, 4,172 government-aided and 2,120 private schools.