SHILLONG, June 10: The State Planning Board has expressed concern over Meghalaya being placed at the bottom of the Ministry of Education’s Performance Grading Index (PGI) for 2021-22.
Speaking to media persons after holding a review meeting with the Education Department, Chairman of the Planning Board, Metbah Lyngdoh, said Shillong was once considered the educational hub of the country, but things have changed slowly, leading to Meghalaya’s PGI ranking.
“It is a matter of concern and those at the helm of affairs need to accept and understand what needs to be done,” he said, adding that the department has initiated some steps to rework its policies.
Expressing concern over the disparity among various categories of school teachers, he said that the teachers are drawing different salaries for the same syllabus.
“It is unfair to see that some teachers are not getting a good salary,” he said, adding that deficit and semi-government teachers are drawing a salary of Rs 70,000, whereas SSA teachers are being paid only Rs 21,000 per month.
Lyngdoh said the government’s new initiative to take over all schools would be tough. He added that Meghalaya has 57% untrained teachers, which affects the state’s education sector.
In the meeting, the Planning Board was briefed on the proposed Meghalaya Education Grant of the Education Department.
According to Lyngdoh, the model designed by the government is encouraging. He recalled that the government assured all stakeholders that they would be on board before taking a final decision.
