Shillong, Nov 3: The Meghalaya government is set to roll out ‘Mission 4’ — the fourth phase of its flagship initiative to upgrade and strengthen school infrastructure across the state.
Education Minister Lahkmen Rymbui said the government has recognised that quality education is directly linked to the condition of school infrastructure, making continuous investment in the sector a top priority.
“This is the first government which recognised that the infrastructure of schools is linked to the quality of education children receive,” Rymbui said. “We have already invested in Mission 1, Mission 2, and Mission 3, and now we are going to invest in Mission 4,” he said.
Highlighting the scale of the challenge, Rymbui said Meghalaya has nearly 15,000 elementary schools, making it difficult for the government to take up all projects at once. “We are doing it in a phased manner for government schools, while some deficit, ad hoc, and grant-in-aid schools are being supported selectively or are improving their facilities on their own. Our intention is to ensure that all infrastructures used to teach children are proper and meets the developmental needs of the students,” he explained.
Rymbui further noted that the initiative goes beyond repairs and includes the construction of entirely new school buildings. “It’s not just a question of repair, but of constructing new buildings altogether. Under the ADB programme, we plan to take up about 150 schools, and including repair works, the total will be around 170 schools with funding from both the government and ADB,” he said.
The Education Minister added that the government’s effort to improve school infrastructure has been ongoing for the past seven years. “It is not easy for the government to do everything in one stretch. That’s why we started Mission 1 in 2019, followed by Mission 2 in 2021, Mission 3 in 2023, and now we are moving into Mission 4,” Rymbui said.
He reaffirmed the government’s commitment to providing better learning environments for students across Meghalaya, describing the school infrastructure mission as a continuous process aimed at ensuring every child has access to conducive space for education and growth.
