Nongstoin, Oct 15: Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma today inaugurated the new building of Synod College, Nongstoin, in the presence of Minister Methodius Dkhar and MLAs Gabriel Wahlang and R.G. Momin. He also opened the college library and its interactive smart classrooms.
Calling education the key for any society to move forward, the Chief Minister said the government has spent the last eight years rethinking and restructuring the state’s entire education system, from the grassroots to higher education. The state’s Education Policy was shaped with experts, he said, who helped the government see that problems like SSLC pass percentages are not the real issue but the result of deeper, systemic problems.
He said Meghalaya once had 14,000 schools, which have now been rationalised and merged into 11,500.
On higher education, he said the government is working to close the gap faced by students who want to study further.
Before 2018, the state had only about 10 government higher technical institutes and colleges. Ten more have been added in the last eight years, including Shillong Engineering College, Captain Williamson Sangma University, the College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Shillong Medical College, and Science and Commerce Colleges at Mahendraganj, Mawphlang and Sohra. Education gets the biggest share of the state budget, Rs 3,500 crore out of Rs 30,000 crore. “The question is not lack of money. The question is how you spend it and what is the impact of that spending,” he said.
Scholarship payments in the last 12 months have touched almost Rs 400 crore. This includes Rs 100 crore before Christmas 2025, Rs 100 crore on August 27, 2026, and Rs 104 crore on October 13, 2026.
Explaining the government’s approach, the Chief Minister used a simple comparison. “Education is like a tangled headphone wire. If you pull too hard on one side, the knot gets stronger. You have to patiently untangle one knot at a time, carry all stakeholders along and minimise impact,” he said.
He also shared a piece of advice from his father: “Believe you are doing the right thing and someone above will move the universe to make it happen.” The government works with that belief, he said, adding with a smile that he clears many projects without knowing where the money will come from. “But the pressure then makes me go to Delhi, to agencies, find innovative ways. And it happens,” he said.
Assuring the college’s Governing Body of full support, he said, “Do not worry. What you are doing is right. You are doing good for society, for every child who would not have the opportunity to study in an institute like this. We may not build a new campus overnight, we will have challenges of salaries and infrastructure, but we will find a way.”
He praised Rev. S.S. Majaw and the Presbyterian Church for their work in education, saying he never says no to them because their work is for the larger good of society.
The new building is expected to give students in the West Khasi Hills region much-needed space and better facilities.
