By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, May 28: The Voice of the People Party (VPP) on Thursday announced that it would organise a march and gherao the state Secretariat in Shillong after the completion of the ongoing examinations in the state.
The decision was taken during a meeting of the party’s State Executive Committee held on May 25. The party, however, did not specify the issues that would form the basis of the agitation.
The agitation has been scheduled after the conduct of the examinations following requests from students and well-wishers. They expressed concern that launching it during this period could disrupt academic activities and cause inconveniences to students appearing for the examinations.
In a statement, VPP spokesperson Londoner Murphy Sohtun said after careful consideration, the party felt that the interests and future of students must be given priority.
He said the decision reflected the party’s concern for students and reaffirmed its commitment to safeguarding the interests, rights and aspirations of the people of the state.
VPP attacks govt over PGI bottom rank
The party launched a sharp attack on the state government over Meghalaya’s poor performance in the national Performance Grading Index (PGI) 2.0, alleging that the state’s education system was in deep crisis and accusing the government of failing students.
VPP spokesperson A.W. Rani said the latest PGI report showed Meghalaya securing an overall score of 417.9 out of 1000, placing the state at the bottom nationally and making it the only state in the “Akanshi-3” grade category.
The VPP pointed to poor scores across key sectors, including Governance Processes, Infrastructure and Facilities, Teacher Education and Training, and Learning Outcomes.
According to the party, Meghalaya scored 40.5 out of 130 in Governance Processes, 62.1 out of 190 in Infrastructure and Facilities, 46.7 out of 100 in Teacher Education and Training, and 47.2 out of 240 in Learning Outcomes – the weakest performance in the Northeast.
The VPP alleged that the figures reflected serious shortcomings in teacher recruitment, inspections, fund utilisation, school infrastructure and learning standards. It claimed that thousands of teaching posts were vacant and that accountability in the education sector was lacking.
Comparing Meghalaya with the neighbouring states, the VPP said Assam recorded a major improvement in its PGI score, while states like Mizoram and Nagaland performed better despite facing similar geographical challenges.
The party questioned the government’s spending priorities and accused it of failing to adequately strengthen the education sector despite large investments in infrastructure and other projects.
The VPP further alleged that the state government had failed in its responsibility to ensure quality education and warned that the future of students in Meghalaya would be at stake if urgent corrective measures were not taken.
