Chief Minister Conrad Sangma has said the State government has structured the education sector by initiating key interventions which has led to improvement in the passing percentage of students in the Class 10 results declared recently by the Meghalaya Board of School Education.
One of the key interventions highlighted by the Chief Minister was the ‘CM Impact Guide Books’ as well as training of teachers and targeted support in underperforming districts.
He said the guidebooks were designed to mirror question-answer formats found in competitive exams like IIT, NEET, and civil services, and helped students grasp the structure of exams better. “We didn’t give shortcuts. We gave structure,” he said.
Expressing satisfaction over the improved results he described it as one of the “most gratifying moments” of governance and that the credit goes to the students who studied and worked hard.
“For me, this is one of the happiest moments. A child failing in Class 10 could mean the end of a dream. Seeing our students succeed is immensely satisfying,” he said, noting that the efforts were aimed at ensuring students—especially in rural areas—had the tools to study effectively.
However, Sangma highlighted that in the midst of a major achievement, there is an urgent need for more higher secondary schools and courses to admit the successful students.
He also outlined the complexities within the education system that hamper further progress. One major issue, he explained, is the multiplicity of school categories operating from the same campus—SSA, government LP, ad-hoc schools—which results in fragmented facilities and affects Meghalaya’s Performance Grading Index (PGI).
“In some campuses, you have four schools under different categories using the same building. This splits resources and pulls down rankings. While they function as one in practice, our system counts them as separate,” he said.
He acknowledged that merging these categories is “very desirable” but also “very sticky,” requiring deep consultation with teachers, school managements, and stakeholders.
The government is currently in its second or third round of internal presentations and reviews with the Education Department, aiming to further diagnose and resolve core issues.
“Our approach has always been to understand the problem before prescribing solutions. That’s how CM Impact came into being—we saw students understanding concepts but struggling with answering structured questions,” Sangma explained.
On whether these interventions will help reduce dropout rates, Sangma was optimistic. “Yes, when students pass and feel they can achieve more, they stay in the system. That’s the goal.”
While refraining from revealing specifics, Sangma confirmed that the government has plans for wider reforms and consultations are already underway.
“We are not taking drastic measures. We are studying the system, sending letters to institutions, and gathering feedback. Yes, we want fewer categories and a more uniform approach, but it will take time and patience.”
