‘I’d pick someone better than Messi or Ronaldo’
By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, May 23: If education were a football field and policies were players, Education Minister Rakkam A Sangma would always choose the best, even if it meant picking someone better than Messi or Ronaldo.
Drawing an analogy from the world’s most celebrated footballers, Sangma said, “I am for the best and if suppose I was given an option of a better player than Messi or Ronaldo, I would definitely go for a better option.”
But just as no good coach mocks his current team, Sangma stressed that the existing system and its stakeholders should not be ridiculed but guided to improve. “The current players should not be ridiculed in the field and instead assist them to excel by rectifying their mistakes,” he said, urging for constructive engagement over blanket criticism.
In response to the All India Save Education Committee’s (AISEC) rejection of the National Education Policy (NEP), Sangma maintained that while every state desires the best, any viable alternative to the NEP would be welcomed, if proven better. “Everyone in the State thirsts for the best. If any State can provide the best alternative to NEP it will be appreciated,” he said. “If they feel NEP is inadequate, instead of criticising, come up with the best alternative and suggest it to the central government.”
He also called for collaboration, noting that the education discourse is being muddled. “Experts from different fields should come together and works unitedly to guide our educationists rather than confusing our students?”
Reacting to AISEC’s claim that dropout rates have increased since the NEP was rolled out, Sangma challenged the assertion, saying he had not seen evidence of such a trend. “I do not think so. And if they feel so or have unearthed so, then figures should be provided and it will be accepted and correctional measures will be initiated,” he said, adding that he still wonders how such a conclusion was reached.
The Meghalaya chapter of AISEC, consisting of educationists and other stakeholders, has termed NEP 2020 as an act of communalisation, commercialisation, and centralisation of India’s education system. On Thursday, the committee unveiled a Draft People’s Education Policy (PEP) as a proposed alternative and has begun seeking feedback before finalising the document at a “people’s parliament” in Bengaluru, scheduled for January 2026.
The committee also criticised the manner in which NEP was adopted in 2020—through a Cabinet decision during the COVID-19 lockdown—bypassing parliamentary debate. AISEC now plans to approach both the central and state governments to push for the adoption of the draft PEP in the broader interest of India’s education sector.
