By Toki Blah
The Oped page of the Shillong Times of March 10, 2026 carried quite a pleasant surprise , at least for me as I hope it did for other readers. The surprise was over the write-up titled “Meghalaya’s Lost Decade in the Civil Services” by Roy Kupar Synrem who signed off as the President , Hynniewtrep Youth Council (The HYC). My gratification was over the fact that at long last, a pressure group consisting of youthful individuals; youngsters often considered as rabble rousing trouble makers than anything productive; more at home in projecting themselves as muscular self appointed saviours of the community ; people more inclined with public policy of “either our way or the highway”, has produced a young educated leader who is not only able to express his concern at a disturbing aspect in Meghalaya society but is also quite capable of articulating his views with logic and reason.
Again, as a welcome change, the article does not take any moral high ground but simply states things as they exist. It reflects how our youth wish to highlight social drawbacks through sensible communication and hence encourages, aged people like me, to join issues; engage in meaningful debates and discussions (verbal or in writing) on how to come up with workable solutions for the benefit of one and all. Meghalaya faces a host of socio-economic-political related hurdles that can be solved only through evocative participation of all. Sustainable solutions to such problems will lie in our ability to work unitedly towards a pre-determined goal and not by pulling each other in opposite directions. It is here that I wish to thank Synrem for providing people from outside his organization the opportunity to chip in with their respective views and opinions on issues that concern and affect Meghalaya and its people.
Let me also admit that I went through the article twice, looking for a particular word and was once again pleased when I failed to find it. The word I was looking for was “Jaitbynriew” and in its stead, the word Meghalaya was mentioned many times. Once again the writer has managed to stay focused on what he has to say – the annual dearth of Meghalaya youth who failed to make it to the All India Services for the last 14 and a half years. It is not an embarrassment for the Khasi Jaintia community alone but for the entire State as a whole. The inability to produce All India Service Officers for nearly 15 years cannot be remedied by parochial cries of “Khasi by blood; Indian by accident.” That won’t work. For the Jaitbynriew to progress, Meghalaya as a state within the Indian Union has to grow and keep pace with the rest of the country. Withdrawing into a shell; shutting off the world around us will only help increase our socio-economic anemia as a minority.
Synrem is correct in identifying “rote learning” as the main stumbling block in Meghalaya’s effort to produce successful UPSC candidates . Rote learning kills initiative; Meghalaya students ( except for those from the few elite Shillong based institutions ) find it quite difficult to connect ideas with innovation; to cultivate critical thinking; to develop intellectual discipline for processed thinking and evaluation. It’s not that it isn’t there. It’s just that the mind hasn’t been trained to do so . That was his take and he is correct. All India Competitive exam results show it. The main stakeholder in promoting Education is the Government and here we have to admit lies the main problem. Experience has shown us that the Educational focus of the Government lies more on the interest of teachers than imparting valuable education to students. Teachers are adults; they vote and so are seen as political assets. Students on the other hand don’t possess a political voice. They can afford to be ignored! It is not hard therefore to understand why politicians ignore Education and that Meghalaya scores zero every year in the PGI rankings. Politicians find no interest in promoting student welfare! Period.
The key to cracking the UPSC has to be through a well thought out coordinated strategy, that should start right from the household, the entire educational system as well as a focused psyche of the prospective candidate himself/herself. Unfortunately it’s something we just don’t have and need to start from scratch. To me the Reservation Policy of the State too plays a role in the mass production of mediocrity. If this is hard to believe, simply attend NEHU organised debates. The performance of our PG students was simply shocking. Reservation kills the urge and need to compete and when this happens, merit is the first casualty. The need to struggle and compete is just not there. Prior to 1978 these hills managed to produce a regular stream of IAS; IPS and Central Service Officers who served all over the country. Tribal IAS and IPS officers from Meghalaya were to be found in almost every state of the country and they did very well. Today, like a species on the verge of extinction they manage to exist only in their endemic environment- Meghalaya and even in their own home state, as stated above, they are becoming more of a rarity than anything else.
So what do we do now? To my mind there are two solutions to the problem- one long term, the other to fill up an immediate need. Lets deal with the long term solution first as it has more to do on how we prepare our scholars for competitive examinations. On this score MBOSE has much to answer for as the pedagogy preferred by this Oracle of Learning is “Rote Learning”. The outcome from such modes of learning is the student’s dislike for anything that has to do with analytical or critical thinking; a dislike for problem solving; it discourages reading habits ( a vital pastime that encourages acquisition of knowledge); of keeping abreast on current affairs. All of the above are traits that any serious candidate, keen in cracking the UPSC, has to develop. They are qualities a student has to discipline himself/herself as preparation for the toughest exam on earth. Sadly our students fail to do so simply because MBOSE, the institution that is supposed to instill knowledge in its recipients, has failed to encourage the inquisitive spirit in its progenies. If Meghalaya is genuinely keen in producing intellectuals capable of emerging as meritorious contenders of UPSC exams , it will have to give a serious thought on how to refashion MBOSE as a center of excellence from the inconsequential institution of learning it is today.
The results for a reinvigorated MBOSE spoken of above will take time. An immediate positive result to our pressing concerns can however be initiated to produce immediate effect. We are all aware of the efforts of the State Government to help aspiring UPSC candidates through coaching and training facilities available at the All India Services Pre-Examination Training Centre (AISPETC) at MATI, Mawdiangdiang. Sadly, so far the initiative has failed to produce results. The reasons for this failure are not far to seek. Meghalaya lacks the proper infrastructure and resources, especially human resources in the form of experts , who can act as coaches, tutors and guides for both Mains as well as Prelims. Private coaching centers at Delhi etc are far too expensive for most of our local aspirants. Perhaps at this juncture it would be welcome news for most to know that the Central Government is also aware of such difficulties and that the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment has tried to redress it by setting up Training and Coaching centers for ST/SC candidates in major Indian cities where both infrastructure and expert human resource are available – Free. Free classes together with boarding and lodging for ST candidates are there on offer. Aspirants can on their own or through the State Govt apply to the following :-
(1) All India Civil Services Coaching Centre (AICSCC), Chennai
· Address: 163/1, Kanchi, P.S. Kumarasamy Raja Salai, Greenways Road, Raja Annamalaipuram, Chennai, Tamil Nadu 600028
· Phone: 24621475, 24621909
· email: [email protected]
· Specialty: Government-run UPSC coaching with subsidized fees and hostel facilities for SC/ST candidates.
· Programs: Prelims, Mains, and Interview guidance.
(2) . Dr. Ambedkar Centres of Excellence (DACE)
• Run by: Dr. Ambedkar Foundation under the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment.
• Spread across: Central universities and major state universities in India.
• Focus: Free UPSC coaching for SC candidates; advocacy ongoing to extend to ST candidates.
In conclusion The Government of Meghalaya can perhaps immediately move the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment for reserving ST seats for candidates from the state in the above named coaching institutions. Meghalaya does have some bright and serious candidates from the state capable of cracking the UPSC exams provided they are given access to coaching centers with the wherewithal to hone their talents and ambitions. Perhaps the time to put an end to this famine for UPSC products has finally arrived.
