SHILLONG, Jan 22: Once recognized as the educational hub of the Northeast, Meghalaya is now grappling with the problem of high dropout rates, underperforming schools, low Performance Grading Index (PGI) ranking and systemic inefficiencies, prompting the government to assess the root causes and implement solutions.
Acknowledging the challenges, Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on Wednesday said the problems in the education sector have accrued over decades and there is not a single reason for the current state of affairs and addressing the challenges require tough decisions and systematic reforms.
The chief minister highlighted how the education infrastructure of the state is extensive but inefficient. He said that the state has 14,582 schools covering a population of 29 lakh—far more than neighbouring states like Tripura, Manipur, and Nagaland with comparable populations due to which several issues persist.
He also highlighted that 206 schools have no students, and 2,269 schools have single-digit enrolments. He pointed out that the government spends Rs 917 crore annually on salaries for private school teachers as compared to Rs 684 crore for government teachers.
Getting into the challenges, he also pointed out that 36 schools have reported zero pass rates for three consecutive years, while 124 schools have reported zero pass in 2024.
He highlighted the difficulties of managing a system built without proper guidelines or planning. Many schools were established over the years without clear criteria, leading to overlapping resources and inefficiencies, he said, adding that they are faced with the challenge of rationalising and restructuring the schools without disrupting livelihoods or compromising access to education.
He informed that the government is working to address these issues through measures such as school mergers: combining schools with low enrolments to optimise resources; accountability standards: introducing guidelines for school infrastructure, teachers’ qualifications and performance, curriculum updates and regulating private institutions.
The CM pointed out that these reforms will come with a lot of financial and logistical challenges that would run into hundreds of crores of rupees but that the government is determined to make it happen.
Despite the grim numbers, Sangma stressed that many schools—both government and private—are doing commendable work. The government aims to build on these successes while addressing inefficiencies.
“How do we achieve that? It’s not so simple. I have made this statement a hundred times in the past, that there are too many entangled knots in the education system. I have to untangle them one by one and piece by piece,” he added.
