Editor,
The recent editorial (26/05/2026), along with the thoughtful observations made by Dr Andy T G Lyngdoh and Dr Veronica Pala in their Letters to the Editor, and the Special Article by Forwardman Nongrem (27/05/2026), deserve sincere appreciation for drawing public attention towards the educational challenges confronting Meghalaya today.
What makes these writings important is not criticism alone, but the genuine concern they reflect for the future of our students. At a time when many young people and parents are silently anxious about educational uncertainty, such discussions become necessary and meaningful.
The issues highlighted regarding poor educational rankings, school dropouts, uneven infrastructure, low enrolment in many schools, and confusion surrounding higher education policies deserve serious reflection from all stakeholders. These are sensitive and complex challenges which have developed over many years and therefore require collective understanding, patience, and long-term solutions.
I feel it is also important to acknowledge that improving education in a geographically difficult and socially diverse State like ours (Meghalaya) is not an easy responsibility. We know many rural and remote areas continue to face infrastructural and accessibility challenges. Nevertheless, the future of our children requires that continuous reforms and corrective measures remain a top priority for everyone concerned.
At the school level, there is perhaps a need for greater focus on strengthening foundational learning, improving school infrastructure, ensuring balanced teacher deployment, and providing transportation support for students from remote villages. Rationalisation of schools, wherever necessary, may be carried out carefully and sensitively so that no child is deprived of access to education.
As stated in the special article there is also a growing need to relieve teachers from excessive non-academic duties so that they can focus fully on their primary responsibility of teaching and mentoring students. Teachers perform one of the most important responsibilities in society and their time, energy, and skills should be utilised mainly for effective, result-oriented classroom teaching and student development. Strengthening regular teacher training, academic monitoring, and supportive learning environments may further improve educational outcomes.
Similarly, at the higher education level, students would greatly benefit from greater clarity, counselling, and timely communication regarding the implementation of the Four-Year Undergraduate Programme and future academic pathways. Young students standing at important turning points of their academic life need confidence and guidance to plan their future properly.
There is also a need for stronger cooperation between educational institutions, teachers, parents, community leaders, student bodies, and policymakers. Education cannot improve through isolated efforts alone. It requires collective responsibility and a shared commitment towards the welfare of students.
At the same time, society too must play its role by encouraging regular attendance, supporting government schools, respecting teachers, and creating an atmosphere where education is valued not merely for employment but for human development and social progress. Our students, I believe, are no less capable than students from any other State. They are talented, hardworking, and full of potential. Given proper guidance, greater focus on teachers’ primary responsibility of teaching, better infrastructure, stability, and opportunities, they can compete successfully anywhere in the country and beyond.
One sincerely hopes that the important concerns raised through the editorial, letters, and special article will encourage healthy public discussion, collective reflection, and constructive educational reforms for the benefit of both present and future generations.
Yours etc.,
Jairaj,
Via email
NEET Paper Leak and Youth Frustration
Editor,
Why on earth does the government treat education as nothing less than a stepchild? To put it plainly, it is overly neglected! A glaring example of this is the latest NEET paper leak. It shows us clearly that our exam halls are no longer about “merit” but about money, muscle, and manipulation. A whopping twenty-two lakh students sweated for months, only to discover that a “guess paper” of major subjects was doing the rounds on WhatsApp. Is it not disgusting, is it not frustrating? Has this not robbed them of the future they worked so hard for?
Of course, small fries like Manish Yadav, Rakesh Mandavriya, P. V. Kulkarni, Manisha Gurunath Mandhare, Manisha Sanjay Havaldar and others were arrested in Rajasthan, Haryana, and Maharashtra. Many allege that they are just foot soldiers. Behind them stands a network of coaching mafias, unscrupulous teaching fraternity, and corrupt officials who strike “shady deals”. The government, in its usual style, cancelled the exam and ordered a CBI probe. That probe, I believe, is nothing more than a lullaby. It may calm the public while the guilty sit back in cosy air-conditioned offices.
The tragedy does not end with cancelled exams. Imagine millions of young students burning the midnight oil for years, only to be told that the exam is called off. Look at the consequences. In Goa, Delhi, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh, four young NEET aspirants committed suicide. Think of the parents who spent all their savings and struggled all along for the future of their sons and daughters. Do these extreme steps by youths not speak of despair, hopelessness, and exhaustion?
Please remember, this is not just a one-off case. In the past two years, we have seen NEET leaks in 2024 and 2026, UGC NET cancelled after a cyber breach, UP Police recruitment papers floating on social media, and Telangana’s TSPSC staff selling exam papers like vegetables in a mandi bazar. Frankly speaking, if exams are the gateway to opportunity, then India’s gates are rusted, broken, and guarded by incompetent authorities. The NTA, our esteemed exam watchdog, now only acts like a toothless old tiger, roaring but never striking the offenders.
Given this terrible academic mess, one wonders when the government will finally get serious about appointing a “competent” head to lead education in India. Until we have an upright and tough taskmaster, the state of education in this country will keep sinking deeper. Yes, the government must stop playing with the lives of our youth and their future employability. I am certain that countless students, out of frustration, have already quit education for good. This is because they have completely lost faith in the system. Who can disagree that the current rise of the so-called Cockroach Janta Party is nothing but the outcome of frustration among our youngsters. Employment remains the bane of the present age.
It is heart-breaking to see IT graduates in big cities working as delivery boys for Pizza Hut, Zomato, Flipkart, or Amazon. In Meghalaya, BA graduates are forced to earn a living by working as labourers, writing numbers in local archery teer counters, or riding Rapido!
Yours etc.,
Salil Gewali,
Shillong
