Some very revealing statistics about enrolment in the primary and Middle English (M.E) Schools in Meghalaya were quoted by the State Education Minister, Dr. R.C. Laloo at a recent public meeting at Jowai. Against about 200,00 students in the rolls of school registers at the primary classes, the follow-up number admitted to M.E. Schools is about 45,000. This means that for every 100 students, only about 23 pursue their studies upto the next stage, that is the Middle School level. The drop out figure thus works out to be about 77 per cent, which in all conscience and by every standard must be considered as a very high measure of wastage of prospective talent and resources.

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It may be argued that enrolment in these hills at the level of primary education has been very high, compared to corresponding figures for the rest of the country, rather than that the enrolment at the next stage of middle-school level is too low, compared to the national average. This only makes the high drop-out figures all the more unfortunate, since adequate attention on this aspect of our educational management would have put these hills in more lurid light at the M.E. stage as well. Thanks to pioneering initiative taken by the early Christian missionaries in these hills, primary education got a tremendous boost, supplemented suitably by the government and now in recent years by the District Councils. Primary education thus spread enormously, whatever be its quality.

In fact, the quality of education imported at the primary stage may partially, not wholly in any case, explain the huge dropout at the next stage. A confirmation of such a supposition would certainly need closer scrutiny, but that the expanse at the primary stage need to be accompanied by a matching measure of depth need not be seriously challenged. A more obvious reason for the high drop-out may be that there are not adequate number of M.E. Schools to cater to the products of all or most of the primary schools spread all over the hills. Lack of adequate road communication linking a distant interior village or a number of them nestling a cluster of primary schools may render it impossible for most of the outgoing students to take advantage of the nearest M.E. school quite a distance away.

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Not that these aspects may not have been looked into by the authorities, but it may not be quite off the mark to assume that steps flowing from such thinking have not proved compensating or corrective enough. In recent years there has been a lot of interest, even of controversy, generated over the state of affairs in the field of primary education in these hills. Attention of progress of education at subsequent stages, more particularly the immediate next stage, which is the M.E. stage, has not unfortunately been riveted to the extent called for. The State government, not being embarrassed by the District Council’s jurisdiction at the later stages of educational management, should be willing and able to give a better account of themselves. To start with, the streamlining of education at the Middle English School level may help considerably in stopping the rot revealed by the figures quoted by the Education Minister.

There is an apparent contradiction in the Assam Governor’s claim, in his address to the State Assembly last week, of a general improvement in the law and order situation in the State and the Union Law Minister Jagannath Kaushal’s statement in the Lok Sabha about the same time that conditions in Assam were not conducive even for undertaking intensive revision of electoral rolls because of tension in many areas, as reported by the Election Commissioner. Not that this obvious contradiction is not recognized by the Assam government as well, on the basis of whose report had the Election Commissioner made this assessment. A reconciliation of the two statements would, however, be quite admissible in a situation in which while the crude outbursts of forces of destabilization have largely been contained, the subtle psychological factors working for a change of heart between the warring communities would take time to become more perceptible and effective.

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It cannot, on the whole, be disputed that Mr Saikia’s first year as Chief Minister, the conclusion of which coincided with the beginning of the session of the Assembly inaugurated by the Governor, has been one of much of his own promises and many of the people’s immediate expectations being fulfilled in a fair measure within the interest limitations under which he had to work. The relative facts of his performances and achievements would tell their own tale; the psychological transform-ation in the whole climate of public in general, too, even if severely slow, has nonetheless started creating an impact for whatever it is worth so far. The extremist overtures have been few and far between in recent weeks, and event he care elements in the agitation leadership has become increasingly less acceptable in public estimation in general. Undoubtedly Mr Saikia’s has been an eloquent testimony to a government that works and it has worked with conspicuous success.

If even in such a congenial climate, the half-a-dozen Tribunals appointed to deal with cases of Foreigners have failed so far to start work in right earnest, the fault can be said to lie with a degree of overzealousness to do too many things into short a time. The result is that in the case of these tribunals the members remain without any work for the most part, without being fed with cases of illegal foreigners on whose states they are to pronounce judgments. While this is so, more of such protective tribunal members lie in wait for being summoned to their duties. The fact is that at the earlier stages of detection of such suspected foreign nationals, whom the Police authorities are supposed to defect initially and then screened by the respective committees for the Tribunals to review, the picture appears to be one of a pathetic disinte-restedness – the very reverse of the government-of-the-day’s overzealousness on the one hand and the aggressive stance of the agitators. A balance between the two extremes might well serve to put a stop to more cases of such exercise in putting the cart before the horse. A go-slow attitude may be more helpful in producing better results.

Lack of interest among the voters is a striking feature of the District Council election this year. This is especially true in the city areas.

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In the city constituencies, Laitumkhrah, Laban – Mawprem, Mawlai and Jaiaw constituencies appear to hold fairly bright prospects for the regional party nominees. The Congress(I) chances are bright in Mawkhar constituency. The Malki-Nongthymmai constituency where a multi-cornered contest is taking place, it is likely that the fight will be mainly between the APHLC and the Cong-I).

The election takes place on March 15 from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. The counting begins on March 17 at the office of the D.C. (Election) adjacent to the secretariat building.

All is not well with the Meghalaya Transport Corporation. There are increasing allegations of misappropriation of funds. Sometime back an employee was put under suspension on charges of corruption. And now comes the news – a cashbook, which is a vital evidence of the alleged swindling of public funds, is missing from the office.

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Sources said that the cashbook relates to the period during which the alleged defalcation took place. The amount involved would run into crores. Sources said that the nature of allegations now being examined include favoritism in matters of allotment of contract bus of body-building, purchase fuel and spare parts.

In London it may be the first call of the cuckoo that singles the dawn of summer, but in Shillong it should be the “ice-cream” vendors who do a brisk business as the sun keeps ascending. Those up countrymen, who carry satin blue wooden boxes on their shoulders, are the real harbingers of summer. It is an entirely different matter that they cannot pronounce the word ice cream (the way they pronounce, it should be spelt as “S-cream”,) but what they trade on is sheer trash. A slab of ice made out of contaminated water, compounded by hazardous chemicals which add atrocious colours, are passed off as ice cream. For the unsuspecting clients, particularly the children, it is the easiest way to invite troubles, health wise.

The city’s transport system was badly affected this week as vehicles went off the road out of “requisition-phobia”. Streets were virtually devoid of buses, taxis and mini-buses as the administration went on a requisition-spree in connection with the holding of District Council election.

While some of the “ill-fated” ones fell into the net of the administration, the careful ones preferred to keep their vehicles in the garage. It is learnt that the district administration requisitioned nearly 100 vehicles of various descriptions.

The resultant effect: the commuters went through a harrowing experience. The buses and taxis were playing sparingly. And there was virtually a chaotic condition. Some “lucky” taxis, which were on road, had a file day. Fares were raised arbitrarily sometimes doubly.

It is felt that much of the chaos could have been avoided if the administration had made an announcement that requisitioning had been stopped after the requisite number of vehicles were in their possession. Most of the taxis and jeep owners; it seems, were reluctant to bring out their vehicles even after the requisitioning had been called off.

Said the transport operator, “it is better not to earn anything than to get requisitioned by the Government”. Another taxi-owner remarked “it is like burning a candle from both sides – neither will they pay nor will the vehicle be looked after.” Indeed the main grouse of the operators is that the government takes inordinately long to pay up, if at all. Mostly the administration does not pay. Only rarely the payment is made and that too after a gap of two or three years.

It is felt that the Govt should examine the various provisions of the law regarding requisition of private vehicles. If not anything, care must be taken to make the payment of a reasonable fare at the time of releasing the vehicles. This one step would automatically evaporate the fears and agonies of transport operators in this regard, it is felt.

While the hide-and-seek drama goes on between the administration and transport operators, one section of people who reap a big harvest are the policemen. It is an accepted fact that even during normal times without greasing the palms of policemen no public transport can play for long. But the demand during the crisis period is enormous. It is alleged that police parties entrusted to do requisition let off vehicles if they are “satisfied”. But the process of “satisfying” is said to be a never-ending affair. Almost everyday, at some point or other the policemen in the name of “requisition” extract whatever they can from the drivers.

By R. T. Rymbai

The 29th of March is a Govt holiday in Meghalaya on account of Tirot Singh’s Death Anniversary. But from all accounts available, Tirot Singh did not die on the 29th of March 1834.

Before the Hill States were carved out of it, had mistakenly declared the 29th of March a public holiday in honour of the Death Anniversary of Tirot Singh. The then Government thought that Tirot Singh must have died on that date because Rijon Singh acceded to The Raj of Nongkhlaw on that day. This was a confusion with the British system of succession when their heir apparent succeeds the moment the reigning sovereign dies or abdicates. Hence the famous English saying; `The king is dead, long live the king’. The Khasi system is different. We have their presumptive. When a reigning system dies, resigns or its otherwise removed from office there is an election for a new Syiem by an electoral college or the public, as the case may be from amongst the their presumptive.

The Government of Meghalaya wrongly followed what the Government of Assam once did when it also declared the 29th of March as a public holiday on account of the Death Anniversary of Tirot Singh. But this year the Government of Meghalaya has had second thoughts about the matter on account of the protests of persons like me. And so we find that the 29th of March has been marked a holiday on account of the Death Anniversary of Tirot Singh as `Conditional to Change.’

The Khasi Cultural Society, Meghalaya, observed the 150th Death Anniversary of Tirot Singh on the 22nd of Feb. last for the first time. The inference from this is that the Society must have taken the 22nd of Feb. 1834 as the date of death of Tirot Singh. But Dr Hamlet Bareh himself, the President of the Society, admitted that the date of death of Tirot Singh was as yet unknown. He contributed an article on Tirot Singh published in the Souvenir of the Society celebrating the Anniversary. He wrote therein. “The date of his (Tirot Singh’s) has not been obtained.” With due respect to the Society the celebration could have been called The Tirot Sigh Memorial Day, or by any other suitable name, but by no means his death anniversary when the date is not known.

Dr. John Hung Morris, in his “The History of the Welsh Calvinistic Methodists’ Foreign Mission,” wrote, “Teerut Singh was condemned to imprisonment for life at Dacca where he died in 1836”. Dr R M Lahiri, in his The Annexation of Assam wrote, “He (Teerut Singh) breathed his last in 1841” . These two authors gave two different dates, either of which might be wrong as the 29th of March was wrong. Capt. Boileau Pemberton’s The Eastern Frontier of India is a mine of information about Assam and the Hills in the early nineteenth century. It is liberally made use of by later authors in their works on Assam and the Hills of the early 19th century. Pemberton completed his book on the 21st of September 1935. About Teerut Singh he wrote, “on the day appointed (the 13th of January 1833), the Rajah Teerut Singh met Mr Inglis at Nursingare, a mile east of Oomchilung and Teerut Singh was conveyed to Myrung, from where he was taken to Gowahatee, and eventually confined in the jail of Dacca, where he remains a prisoner for life”.

Mr Hopingstone Lyngdoh, the founder-president of the HSPDP, was elected as the Chief Executive Member of the Khasi Hills District Council on 31 March. The unanimous choice of this popular leader from the West Khasi Hills district is said to be a compromise between the out-going CEM, Mr B. Wanniang and some of the new claimants.

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This is the first time that Mr Lyngdoh has assumed the office of CEM.

In the first showdowns, the ruling APHLC -HSPDP combine suffered a mild shock when one of their Members voted for the opposition nominee in the election of Chairman. Mr P G Marbaniang, who was elected by 20-8 votes in the secret ballot, defeated Mr H S Shylla, the opposition sponsored candidate. A Congress(I) member was absent.

Sources said that the office of Deputy Chairman has been allotted to the APHLC. Of the four offices of Executive Member, the two parties have decided to take two each.

Earlier, the Deputy Commissioner, Mr J Tayeng conducted the swearing in of the newly-elected members.

Power has started hawing from the Kopili hydel project this week.

The first unit of the project began transmitting 25 MW power to the north-eastern regional grid. The second unit of equal strength would begin generating power from next week.

The Rs 149-crore project was initially designed to be commissioned in June 1982. Owing to political unrest and natural calamities the target date for commissioning the first unit (Khandong power House) was revised to February – March this year.

Mr S.R.S. Chairman of the NEEPCO told newsmen here that movement in Assam and flood ravages in the region disrupted the supply line at crucial junctures resulting in unforeseen delay in commissioning. He said that there was no laxity on the part of the management once un-interrupted supply of materials was restored.

The first phase of the project would generate 150 MW, and when completed the total capacity of the project would go up to 325 MW. It is expected to be completed by March 1985. Investigations and explorations were being made to raise the capacity to about 500 MW.

Mr Shah said that efforts were onto request the Prime Minister to dedicate the project to the nation at a function to be organized at her convenience.

The NEEPCO, he said, had 7000 circuit kilometers transmission line work-load. The Corporation has two more projects in hand: Doyang hydro electric (Nagaland) and Garo Hills Thermal project.

The Datta Commission’s finding about the management of primary education in Khasi Hills has become somewhat irrelevant now, in view of the imminent exit of the defaulting Executive Committee of the outgoing District Council. The appointment of the Commission itself was, therefore somewhat out of place from this point of view. The Commission’s observations, and more particularly the timing of publication of the same, however, would well serve the Congress (I) in the ensuing District Council elections to put under shade the regional parties who have been in control of the District Council affairs during the outgoing term.

Regarding the fate of primary education in this autonomous district, the government could well take it over without such exercise of an impartial enquiry. Having taken over the control of primary education in the other autonomous districts, the government had no valid reason not to take the same decision in respect of the Khasi autonomous district as well. For the sake of a uniform policy throughout the State in respect to a vital subject affecting the government -council relationship, there was no escape from bringing Khasi Hills also in line with the rest in this matter. There should be no different treatment to Khasi Hills even if the new Executive Committee to be formed after the ensuring election is eventually found to be more amenable to the party in power at the State level.