By Sumarbin Umdor
The Meghalaya Board of School Education has reached a significant milestone as it completes 50 years of dedicated service in the development of K-12 school education in the State. Since its establishment in 1973, the number of schools affiliated to the Board has steadily increased to more than 900 schools in 2023 and the number of students appearing in Classes X and XII examinations has reached 84,000. As we celebrate MBOSE’s achievements and acknowledge its role in shaping the lives of the young people of Meghalaya, the occasion also calls for an assessment of the functioning of the Board and reflect on the challenges it faces to align the curriculum, pedagogy, and assessment with the changing educational landscape and global trends.
As per the MBOSE Principal Act of 1973 and the amended Act of 2006, the Board is responsible for prescribing the curriculum to be followed by affiliated schools; conducting and certifying Board examinations; granting affiliation to schools; organising training programme for teachers; undertaking study on issues related to school education; and the administration of Board’s fund, assets and functionaries. Over the years, MBOSE has faced scrutiny and criticism over errors in prescribed textbooks, delays in the revision and updating of syllabi and textbooks, and making mathematics and science optional subjects in the Class X examination
This write-up attempts to provide an objective assessment of the functioning of MBOSE in recent years by reviewing the minutes of the Governing Board (GB) meetings from 2014 to 2022 (131st to 140th Board meetings). The GB is the apex body which decides on all the programmes and activities of MBOSE and to formulate policies and strategies as laid down in the aforementioned Act. As such, the minutes of the GB meetings provide insightful accounts of the working of MBOSE and it is supplemented by the writer’s own experience as a member of the GB from 2021 to date.
(i) Board’s meetings and membership: Although the MBOSE Act mandates that the GB must meet at least three times a year, during 2014 to 2022 it has been convened only once in a year, except in 2017 and 2018 when it met twice. When it comes to membership, the Act offers ample scope for appointment and co-opting of educationists and academicians other than those representing schools (principals and teachers). However, in practice, the GB meetings are mostly confined to MBOSE officials, government representatives and academicians representing schools. The deliberations of the GB would certainly be more enriching if it includes accomplished academicians and educationists from outside the State.
(ii) Board’s agenda and deliberations: Matters related to examination centers and fees, and affiliation of schools dominates the agenda of the last ten MBOSE’s GB meetings. Appointment of staff and purchase of vehicles also figure regularly in the agenda. The academic agenda includes the formation of textbook experts, approval of prescribed books, and the introduction of a few vocational courses. Other notable decisions taken by the GB during this period are the adoption of the Central Board of School Education syllabi for the science and commerce stream; special questions papers for low vision students and other measures for students with special needs; revision of textbook; and the introduction of general knowledge, value education and vocational courses. The GB meetings in 2017 and 2018 saw many new recommendations such as the creation of a research and development cell, making training mandatory for Board officials, designing questions using Bloom’s taxonomy and making them available to students.
In almost all cases, proposals put up to the GB are approved. However, agenda proposed by non-official members, even when sent to the Board well in advance, are not included for discussion. This writer has on two separate occasions proposed a detailed report to be presented to the GB on the following issues (i) analysis of the results of SSLC and HSSLC examinations over last few years(ii) coverage of CUET UG syllabus in the MBOSE syllabus (iii) analysis of question paper patterns of past examinations (iv) district/area level analysis of school affiliation (v) academic programme conducted by the Board. However, none of the above were included and reported in the subsequent GB meetings.
There is also very little involvement of MBOSE with other professional bodies in terms of collaborations in the development of skill courses, competency-based assessment, and training of educators and administrators. For example, CBSE and other state school boards are partnering and collaborating with national and international agencies in different areas to strengthen and improve their performance and activities.
(iii) Presentation of budget and outlays: One of the important functions of the GB is to approve the budget of MBOSE which is presented to it after approval by the Finance department of the State government. The own revenue receipts of the Board at Rs. 28 crores in the financial year (FY) 2021-22 have steadily increased by 115 percent in the last 10 years. Opening balance as cash in the bank and receipts from examinations account for about 50 and 44 percent of the own revenue of MBOSE. Besides its revenue, the Board also received grants-in-aid from the state government for paying salaries of staff. This amount which was Rs. 5.50 crore in FY 2013-14 increased to Rs. 15.50 crore in FY 2020-21 driven by an increase in staff salaries after the implementation of the Fifth Pay commission.
On the expenditure side, the main expenses are salary and pension contributions which account for 50 percent of the total expenditure, followed by examination expenses at about 20 percent. Capital expenditure is another item which fluctuates from year to year depending upon the nature of expenses such as the purchase of vehicles and construction works being taken up in a particular year. A notable feature of the income and expenditure statement of MBOSE is the rising positive balance which has increased from about Rs. 2 crore in the FY 2013-14 to Rs. 15 crore in the FY 2021-22.
Only a small percentage of the MBOSE’s budget is being spent on activities such as capacity building of officials, training of teachers and school administrators, organizing workshops and seminars, collaboration with other professional bodies and other programmes that support academic development and professional capacity of Board’s officials, school administrators and educators. The Board is yet to earmark sufficient funds towards building an effective IT platform along with digital infrastructure that can support and integrate all its activities. The GB in 2021 has suggested that the Board adopt leasing or hiring of vehicles to contain the capital expenditure on the purchase of new vehicles and their maintenance as well as judicious review of new construction proposals.
(iv) Challenges ahead: A major challenge faced by MBOSE is to improve the poor learning outcomes of students, particularly among the rural students. Another priority is the adoption of new and innovative teaching strategies and the regular update of curricula and assessment methods as per the needs and standards of the present times. School education in the State has to move away from rote learning to competency-based learning and assessment. The norms for granting affiliation to schools must be reviewed to ensure that educational institutions have the critical minimum physical and digital infrastructure as per the need for the present times. Given the lack of expertise within the State, MBOSE also needs to collaborate with the central government agencies and other reputed national and international agencies to plan and implement much-needed reforms in content, teaching and learning strategies and evaluation.
Another important issue that MBOSE must address is the widening rural-urban education gap for which a reputed research institution should be assigned to study this problem and recommend measures to address it. The Board must also include activities in schools that address social issues. A case in point is the high teenage pregnancy in Meghalaya which can be addressed through a school-based teenage pregnancy prevention programme. Similarly, given the lack of employment opportunities, innovative programmes like the Entrepreneurial Mindset Development Program (and others) may be included in our school curriculum to transform aspiring students from being job seekers to job creators. Finally, MBOSE must gear itself to implement the dynamic changes under the New Education Policy including the introduction of a new flexible school curriculum structure, vocational subjects, and activities for holistic and all-round development of learners with a focus on critical thinking and experiential learning.
(Dr Sumarbin Umdor is Governing Board Member, MBOSE, 2021-2024)