The opposition Trinamool Congress (TMC) has hit out at the state government over Meghalaya’s rock bottom ranking in the latest Performance Grading Index (PGI) 2023-24, which was recently released by the Union Ministry of Education.
In the rankings Meghalaya came out as the lowest-performing state in school education.
“This is not just a number. It is a clear indictment of the failures of the Conrad Sangma-led MDA (Meghalaya Democratic Alliance) government,” TMC leader Richard M Marak said today in a release. “Instead of taking responsibility, the government may point to the recent increase in matriculation (Class 10) pass percentages as a sign of progress. But let us be honest. This spike is the result of mass promotions, intentional dilution of academic standards and distribution of government-sponsored guidebooks, not genuine improvement. Learning outcomes have not improved; they were simply pushed under the rug for public optics.”
Marak was referring to the record pass rate in the Meghalaya Board of School Education (MBOSE) Class 10 examinations this year. Critics have claimed that the government-issued guidebooks released in the run-up to the board exams dumbed down the whole process.
“Even as the government celebrates inflated pass percentages, the PGI tells the real story – a story of understaffed schools, demoralised teachers, broken infrastructure and poor governance. The education system is in disrepair,” the TMC member said.
Worse still, he added, Meghalaya is now attempting to implement the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 “without the required preparation”.
Under the NEP 2020 Class 10 board exams are set to be discontinued but, Marak added, there has been no proper teacher training, no new curriculum rolled out and no awareness for parents and students about what lies ahead.
“This rushed and careless transition is set to cause mass confusion and disruption, especially in rural areas where digital and institutional support is weakest,” he said while looking back positively on the days of the “vision-driven” approach to education taken by TMC state supremo Dr Mukul Sangma when he was Chief Minister.
Marak claimed that many initiatives taken by Dr Sangma have not been followed through by this government. Among these, he said that the government has not operationalised free model residential schools in rural areas nor started a school like Shillong’s Pine Mount in Garo Hills.
“These were long-term structural investments, not election-year gimmicks. Despite repeated claims that education is their top priority, the Conrad Sangma government has consistently failed,” Marak stated, pointing to hundreds of unfilled vacancies in teacher posts, pending teacher salaries, lack of training support, poor or missing infrastructure, absence of digital learning, etc.
“There are growing concerns that the model residential schools may be handed over to private entities, following the same path as the Tura Government Medical College and Hospital (which the TMC has also criticised the government over), which was built entirely with public funds but is now reportedly moving toward private management under a PPP model,” the TMC said.
“Meghalaya’s children deserve real learning, not just pass certificates. The PGI report is a warning bell that must not be ignored. If the government continues to treat education as a talking point rather than a transformative mission, an entire generation will be sacrificed to failure. It is time for accountability, not spin. It is time for action, not more excuses,” Marak concluded.
