Shillong, September 11: Meghalaya Education Minister Lahkmen Rymbui on Friday said rationalisation of teachers is unavoidable, stressing the need to ensure a more balanced deployment of teaching staff across schools in the state. “We cannot have a school with zero students but three teachers, and another school with 300 students but only two teachers. Rationalisation is the way forward, without affecting incumbent teachers. We will complete it in due course,” Rymbui said.
The minister said the Education Department is pursuing reforms on several fronts, including efforts aimed at strengthening the case for inclusion of Khasi and Garo languages in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution. He said the government has approved books for teaching basic Khasi and Garo during the past year. “Our intention is clear — we want these languages in the Eighth Schedule, so we have to make our case strong,” he said.
Referring to the NITI Aayog Report 2024-25, Rymbui said only 8.2 per cent of graduates secure employment directly related to their course of study, underlining the importance of skill-based education. “Where does the remaining 92 per cent go? We recognised that skills are crucial. That is why we introduced Community Integral Skills Learning to integrate skills with formal education from Class V onwards,” he said.
On teacher development and educational infrastructure, Rymbui said the government has established the Meghalaya Teachers Training Academy and upgraded all government secondary schools to higher secondary level. “Teaching is dynamic. Secondary schools have been upgraded and new streams have been added,” he said.
Rymbui also acknowledged problems encountered in the implementation of Direct Benefit Transfer for school uniforms. “We introduced DBT last year and there were complaints relating to bank accounts. We also saw the issue being raised in the Assembly. We recognise the ground reality and will take corrective measures whenever issues arise. But blaming one officer is not correct,” he said.
Highlighting the government’s achievements in the education sector under Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma, Rymbui said education has remained one of the administration’s top priorities since 2018. “From day one in 2018, the Chief Minister said education is a top priority. Earlier, there were only six government colleges. Today, we have our own university, an engineering college, a college of architecture and urban planning, and government colleges across the state,” he said.
He added that the People’s College model and the upgrading of government secondary schools to higher secondary level were made possible with the Chief Minister’s support.
Rymbui, however, acknowledged that more needs to be done. “Is it enough? No. Education is dynamic. From Mission Education I, we are now at Mission Education IV. If we wait until we have enough resources to do everything in one go, it may never materialise. It is a continuous process, and we are trying to do more,” he said.
