Shillong, Sept 29: Sylvester Shadap isn’t your regular teenager registering for the SSLC examination scheduled to be held in December 2026.
At 59, he is the oldest among 9,767 former school dropouts who have registered as private SSLC candidates under Meghalaya’s Second Chance Learning Programme.
The Second Chance Learning Programme is a joint initiative of the Meghalaya government, the Meghalaya Board of School Education (MBOSE) and the Meghalaya Programme for Adolescent Wellbeing, Empowerment and Resilience (MPOWER). It allows former school dropouts to prepare for and appear in the SSLC examination without returning to a conventional full-time school.
Thirty-seven years after dropping out of school, the late-middle-aged man from Thadrang Umngem village in Ri Bhoi district wants to set an example for children in his family and other young people who have left school.
“Returning for the SSLC examination is to set an example for all the adolescents, starting from my own family,” he said.
Shadap dropped out of school in 1989 and had believed that returning to education was no longer possible.
“I dropped out of school in 1989, so it has been approximately 37 years since then. Honestly, I knew within myself that coming back for further studies was over,” Shadap said.
Preparing for the examination decades after he left school has been a challenge for Shadap. He said he is finding it difficult to adjust to changes in the curriculum after such a long gap in his education.
He is, however, optimistic about the future.
“Despite this, the goal is that I will work hard for this exam,” he said.
The 9,767 candidates registered under the programme include adolescents, young adults and older learners from all 12 districts of Meghalaya. There is no upper age limit for appearing as a private SSLC candidate.
The programme has 171 notified learning and assessment centres across the state. Ri Bhoi has 690 registered candidates, while 185 learners have registered at the Mawlasnai centre.
The pathway is intended for people who left school because of financial difficulties, family responsibilities, migration, early marriage, geographical barriers or other circumstances.
The December examination will give Shadap and thousands of other former school dropouts an opportunity to complete their Class X education and pursue further studies, vocational training or skills-based opportunities.
