CM for keeping students at centre of education policy
Shillong, Nov 5: Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma has announced plans to support over 700 secondary and higher secondary schools currently outside government aid.
“We are working on a plan to support existing schools which we are supporting, and a plan to support schools which we are not supporting at all,” Sangma said on Wednesday.
Stressing that calculations had to be made to ensure fairness, he said, “In politics, I have learned it is better to take half a step, then take one step up. Because once you take one step forward, you cannot take it back.”
The Chief Minister also advocated for keeping students at the centre of education policy, saying the Rs 4,000 crore spent in the sector alone cannot measure the whole effort.
“Government spends close to Rs 4,000 crore every year on education, because education is important. But money alone is not the measure,” he said during inauguration of the new Higher Secondary section and laying the foundation for the auditorium at Presbyterian Higher Secondary School, Shillong, on its 126th anniversary.
“At the end of day, quality of education is what we need to strive for. And that will only come through one thought process – keep the student at the centre of all our decision making,” he said.
Thanking God for the institution’s journey, the Chief Minister said, “Education is one of the most powerful tools to bring change in society. I do not think of any greater investment than to invest in education and schooling.”
Recalling the high failure rate in the past, he said, “We had a time when 50 per cent of students failed SSLC. That means their dreams were over even before they started to dream.”
He linked dropouts to lack of infrastructure, stating the state has 9,000 lower primary schools but only 500 higher secondary schools and just over 100 colleges, up from 80 earlier.
“Obviously we need to create more Higher Secondary Schools. We need to create more colleges. These things don’t happen in a single term. It takes time,” he said.
Sangma said his government inherited annual unrest with ad-hoc and SSA teachers demanding pay revision.
“Government was spending Rs 1,200 crore every year just on salaries of grant-in-aid schools and colleges. Even a 10 per cent increase means Rs 120 crore impact,” he said, adding the government chose dialogue over confrontation.
He said the CM IMPACT programme has lifted SSLC pass percentage from 50 percent five years ago to over 90 percent now.
The Chief Minister criticised decision-making driven by finance, politics or temporary fixes, saying, “Most of us forget about child. We never ask – Is this correct for the child?”
He urged teachers to move from teaching a whole class to shaping every student with personal attention, noting each child learns differently.
