Editor,
Through your esteemed daily, I wish to express my sincere appreciation for the recent article by Toki Blah titled “Rural School Dropouts: What happens to them? Is there a way out?” published on 17th November, 2025. His article deserves deep recognition for bringing to light a crisis that silently determines the future of thousands of children in our state.
A problem too large to ignore: As the author points out, more than 40% of rural secondary school students in Meghalaya drop out every year. This means that over 22,000 children leave school annually—many of them between the ages of 14 and 17. At such a young age, they step into adulthood without education, without skills, and without guidance.
According to the current Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE+) data, Meghalaya continues to be among the states with:
· one of the highest dropout rates in the North East,
· low secondary school attendance, and
· large disparities between rural and urban schooling conditions.
This is not just an education issue; it is a development issue.
Why this should worry all of us?
When so many children drop out every year, the long-term consequences are serious:
1. Loss of future workforce: Meghalaya already faces shortages in skilled professions—health
workers, technicians, agricultural specialists, and teachers. Dropouts widen this gap.
2. Inter-generational poverty: Without education or skills, most dropouts end up in low-paid, informal jobs, repeating the cycle of poverty their parents faced.
3. Higher vulnerability: Studies in the North East show that school dropouts are at greater risk of early marriage, addiction, unsafe migration, and exploitation.
4. Weak rural economy: With fewer educated youth, rural innovation declines, cooperatives struggle, and agriculture becomes less productive.
5. Slow human development: Meghalaya’s Human Development Index (HDI) remains lower than the national average, and high dropout rates directly contribute to this.
These impacts affect the entire state’s growth—not just one family or one village.
Why the dropout problem continues?
The crisis is not due to any lack of ability in our children. It is, as my long years in the teaching profession have shown me, the weakness of the support system around them.
The major reasons include:
· poor school infrastructure in many rural blocks,
· teacher shortages in key subjects,
· poverty-driven pressure on children to work,
· lack of counselling to guide students academically or emotionally,
· no strong mechanism to track and bring back dropouts,
· distance to secondary schools, which discourages many girls from attending regularly.
Unless these root causes are addressed, dropouts will continue to rise.
Efforts that deserve appreciation:
It is important to acknowledge the positive initiatives of the Government of Meghalaya:
The Meghalaya Education Commission Report (2023) provides valuable insights and corrective measures.
· The DERT’s Entrepreneurship and Soft Skills Module is a step towards preparing students—and dropouts—for employable skills.
· Skills Meghalaya and vocational training programmes help youth connect education with livelihood opportunities.
· Infrastructure upgrades and teacher training reforms indicate serious intent.
These initiatives need strong monitoring and coordination to show real results.
A practical path forward:
Based on the concerns raised by Toki Blah, the following steps, I strongly feel, can make a genuine difference:
1. A state-level Dropout Tracking System: Every student who leaves school should be identified within weeks—not years—and contacted for support.
2. School-to-skill pathways: Rural youth should have access to short-term skill courses, apprenticeships, and entrepreneurship programmes linked to local industries, agriculture, and tourism.
3. Transparent cooperatives: Reviving village-level cooperatives with good governance can generate income and give youth meaningful roles.
4. Meaningful integration of soft skills and entrepreneurship: These should be practical, hands-on, and linked to real opportunities—not just classroom theory.
5. Community involvement: Village councils, parents, churches, and NGOs can play a major role in motivating children to stay in school.
These steps are realistic, affordable, and proven to work in many parts of India.
Toki Blah’s article reminds us that each dropout is not merely a number—it is a young life losing hope. Meghalaya cannot afford to let 22,000 children slip away every year.
We must act with urgency, compassion, and collective responsibility. Every child who enters school must be able to complete it with dignity and a future full of possibilities.
Yours etc.,
Jairaj
Via email
Mandani’s win a vote against Trump
Editor,
Over and above what the editorial “Taming of Trump “(ST November 7, 2025) has highlighted, the key takeaways from the 2025 Elections in the U.S. is that Democrats won governorships in Virginia and New Jersey by double digit margin. Exit polls showed that most Virginia and New Jersey voters disapproved of Trump, and at least 9 in 10 of those people supported Democratic candidates for governor. In New Jersey, GOP candidate Jack Ciattarelli’s alignment with Trump hurt his chances despite a strong campaign.
Zohran Mamdani, a Democrat Socialist, made history as New York City’s first Muslim and Millennial mayor, defeating Andrew Cuoma who ran as an independent. Affordability was the top voter concern as the exit polls showed that economic anxiety and cost of living were the dominant issues. Democratic candidates focused on affordability, housing and energy costs, while Republicans struggled to distance themselves from Trump. Trump’s influence backfired as many Republican candidates who embraced Trump proved detrimental. Youth and diversity shaped outcomes as Mamdani’s win were powered by young voters and college-educated urbanites, reflecting a generational shift in political engagement. His campaign emphasized economic justice, social media outreach and symbolic representation.
California’s “Proposition 50” passed, allowing Democrats to redraw congressional maps ahead of the 2026 midterms countering Republican gerrymandering efforts. Why does this matter? These results reflect a growing discontent with Trump’s second term, especially among urban, younger and economically burdened voters. Democrats are leveraging this momentum to reshape congressional maps and build coalitions ahead of 2026.
Yours etc;
VK Lyngdoh
Via email
