SHILLONG, June 5: Education Minister Rakkam A Sangma on Thursday defended the state government’s plan to phase out the deficit system in educational institutions and provincialise them, saying that the move aims to reduce fee burdens for students and bring all teachers under full government administration.
He called the initiative a historic attempt to make education both affordable and structurally coherent.
As consultations continue with heads of deficit-pattern institutions, colleges like Shillong College may bring their fees down from around Rs 66,000 per year to around Rs 15,000 under the new structure, he said, citing an example.
Giving the current financial overview of key institutes, Sangma said it is Rs 21.6 crore annually for St. Anthony’s College, Rs 12.9 crore for Shillong College, Rs 15.6 crore for St. Edmund’s College, Rs 12 crore for Lady Keane College, and Rs 14.28 crore for St. Mary’s College.
These institutions are currently supported under a mixed funding model, involving both state schemes and UGC support, but Sangma clarified that management structures range from semi-government to private bodies, with many institutions operating under a “deficit” mode.
The current system includes 13 different categories of teachers, which the government wants to eliminate by bringing them under two or three clear designations: government, grant-in-aid government, and private, he said.
The government is proposing the Meghalaya Education Grant to streamline this process. Most institutions are more than willing to embrace the change, but challenges remain, such as managements wanting to continue operating independently, he said.
He assured that the government will only move forward after due consultations with all institutions, and those who are unwilling will be considered independent and have to manage their funds through the Meghalaya Education Grant.
“Community-run institutions may welcome the change, while group-run or private institutions may opt to remain outside the provincialisation model. In either case, the government will not cut existing grants, but they will become independent and manage their college on their own,” Sangma pointed out.
If the plan is executed fully and all deficit institutions across Meghalaya are provincialised, it could involve an additional financial implication of Rs 30-40 crore annually. However, salaries are already nearing the government’s levels, so the extra financial load is not expected to be drastic. Existing teachers will not be affected, and they will continue in service until retirement under the new structure.
