From CK Nayak
NEW DELHI, May 11: The latest report of the NITI Aayog has concurred with the paradoxical and grim situation of school education in Meghalaya with a very high dropout rate despite having a maximum number of schools as well as teachers.
The NITI Aayog report titled “School Education System in India: Temporal Analysis and Policy Roadmap for Quality Enhancement”, released earlier this month highlighted that the hill state has one of the highest school dropout rates. It also has the lowest transition rates in the country at the secondary level, it said.
Meghalaya reported a high secondary-level (Classes 9-10) dropout rate of 17.4% in 2024-25. The state recorded one of the lowest transition rates from secondary to higher secondary (Classes 11-12) in India, at 47.8%.
Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) at the higher secondary level in Meghalaya is among the lowest in India, reported at 39.7%.
Meghalaya faces significant infrastructure gaps, with limited access to smart classrooms (4.3% of schools), the report said. The report highlights structural fragmentation, with only about 5.4% of schools nationwide offering a continuous journey from Class 1 to 12.
Meghalaya, along with Assam and Nagaland in the region was noted for having some of the lowest higher secondary enrolment rates in the country, the report added.
In Meghalaya, lack of higher-level schools forces students to change institutions multiple times, which frequently leads to attrition, it said.
The state continues to face major gaps in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure, digital learning resources, and basic school facilities, it added.
Incidentally, Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma during the recently concluded Prelude to Shillong Literary Festival here had flagged the issue through charts and official statistics.
Sangma had disclosed that approximately 22,000 students drop out every year, with rural areas being disproportionately affected. More boys are leaving schools than girls. The problem is more acute in Garo Hills than in Khasi-Jaintia Hills.
Ironically, at 14,582, Meghalaya has the highest number of schools with an equally high number of teachers (55,160).
Another paradox is that the enrolment of students is zero in as many as 206 schools in Meghalaya. In 2,269 others, it is only in single digit, the Chief Minister said showing graphs.
Altogether 18 deficit and ad hoc schools have zero enrolment and 1,141 have single digit registrations.
“The funny part is that there are areas where there are five schools each with only five students as well as five teachers,” Sangma said, adding that some are government schools or government-aided schools, or private or church-run schools aided by the government.
“The government cannot take required action to streamline the rot due to various reasons,” Sangma said, admitting that there are political compulsions, financial burden and humanitarian concerns which make major reforms in the sector difficult.
