Shillong, Jan 30: Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma on Tuesday said that the government is commitment to investing in education and enhancing infrastructure for higher and technical education in the state.
CM made the statement at the inaugural ceremony of Sohra Government College in East Khasi Hills.
Sangma highlighted the significant boost planned for higher learning, with new centers focusing on science, engineering, and architecture being established in the state.
He explained that tough decisions were made to bring about improvements in education quickly. He credited former Education Minister Lahkmen Rymbui for his clear and decisive approach, expressing the government’s goal of making significant positive changes in the education sector.
Cess on education collected but…:CM
“For years, the cess on education was collected by the Government but was never spent. When we took over, we decided that every single rupees collected through cess should be used for education. From the cess, we have started construction of new infrastructure as well as renovation of different schools and colleges”, he said.
CM Conrad on Govt schools
He mentioned that all Government Secondary Schools in the State have received approval for either renovation or the construction of new buildings. Additionally, nearly 2500 LP Schools have been renovated or built with a budget of Rs. 500 crore.
Introduction of NCERT textbooks
Talking on the introduction of NCERT textbooks for the Meghalaya Board of School Education (MBoSE), he explained, ‘Mathematics and Science are the same worldwide. Implementing NCERT textbooks will ensure that our children are on par with students from the rest of the world.’ He also assured that MBoSE would follow NCERT guidelines and incorporate local and traditional knowledge into school textbooks.
Emphasising the importance of NCERT textbooks, he said the textbooks will ensure quality content, help in improving learning outcomes and also improve by 15-20 percent in the graph, as learning outcomes are the basis of PGI.
CM on NEP 2020
With the introduction of multi-disciplinary subjects under the NEP 2020, the CM said that all Government colleges in the State will soon offer commerce and science streams.
He stated, ‘The proposal is currently with the finance department and will be presented to the cabinet for approval. As the chairman of the cabinet, I assure you that we will work to get the proposal cleared because it is in the best interest of our student community.
Currently, the government allocates the highest budget of Rs. 2000 crore for education among all departments.
The event was attended by Education Minister Rakkam Sangma and Health Minister Dr. Mazel Ampareen Lyngdoh.
