From Our Correspondent
TURA, May 19: The Garo Students’ Union (GSU) has written to Education Minister Rakkam Sangma, highlighting the acute shortage of affordable higher education opportunities for students from financially disadvantaged backgrounds in Meghalaya, particularly in the Garo Hills region.
In a letter to Rakkam, the GSU called for his immediate intervention to increase the number of seats in Tura Government College, as well as in other government and private colleges, to address the systemic shortage of seats in higher education institutions.
The request comes in the wake of an impressive performance by students from Garo Hills in the recently declared SSLC examination results. With the compartmental exam results due soon, the demand for seats in higher education is expected to rise even further.
“Tura Government College is a critical institution for students from rural and tribal communities who cannot afford the exorbitant fees charged by private colleges. However, due to the severely limited number of seats, hundreds of meritorious students are denied admission annually. This forces them to either abandon their educational aspirations or take on crippling financial burdens to enroll in private institutions, which is an impossible choice for families already struggling with poverty,” said GSU president, Tengsak Momin.
Momin expressed concern over the dire consequences of the seat shortage, stating that the exclusion of students from weaker sections perpetuates cycles of poverty within these families.
Many students, especially girls, he opined, are compelled to discontinue their studies due to lack of access, while the Garo Hills region—already lagging behind—falls further due to the dearth of educational institutions.
The GSU stressed the need to increase seats in all departments (Arts, Science, Commerce) to accommodate more students, and to strengthen educational infrastructure — including classrooms, laboratories, and quality faculty — to support the expansion.
Further, the GSU advocated for the introduction of need-based scholarships and fee waivers for students from below poverty line (BPL) families to bridge the accessibility gap. It also expressed its willingness to partner with the government in identifying and implementing solutions to these challenges. “By addressing the seat shortage, we can empower marginalised youth, reduce interstate migration for education and foster socio-economic development in Meghalaya,” wrote Tengsak, while requesting a meeting on the matter.