Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on May 25 presented a comprehensive roadmap for education reforms to Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan in New Delhi, outlining structural and academic measures intended to tackle persistent gaps in learning outcomes and overall school quality across the state. According to an official statement from the Chief Minister’s Office, Sangma set out the government’s reform priorities, timelines and key interventions during the meeting.
Sangma told the Union minister that Meghalaya — with a population of nearly 30 lakh (about 3 million) — has roughly 14,600 schools, one of the highest counts among northeastern states after Assam, a situation that has fragmented resources and created multiple grant-in-aid systems and administrative complexities over time. The state’s Education Department has identified critical shortfalls in learning outcomes and designed reforms to strengthen infrastructure, governance and academic delivery.
A major component of the plan is a school rationalisation exercise to optimise resources, improve the student–teacher ratio and ensure better access to laboratories, digital facilities and other academic infrastructure. The presentation said around 3,198 lower-primary schools out of 14,582 schools have already been rationalised as part of this restructuring process.
The Chief Minister highlighted the introduction of a unified pay structure with structured pay mechanisms for SSA teachers to improve parity, morale and accountability across the teaching workforce. He also outlined ongoing teacher development efforts, including DIKSHA-enabled professional development programmes, self-paced modules and continuous skill-enhancement opportunities.
On policy implementation, the Meghalaya government briefed the Centre on localised adoption of the National Education Policy — including the three-language formula, compulsory learning of Khasi and Garo, play-based foundational learning, contextualised textbooks and “bag-less days” at the foundational stage. Sangma also flagged the launch of the “CM LEAD Fellowship,” which will deploy 12 fellows across districts to strengthen planning, implementation and monitoring, and the establishment of the Meghalaya Teachers Training Academy (MTTA) under Samagra Shiksha to support teacher education.
“With a clear roadmap and strong political will, Meghalaya is poised to overcome its challenges and significantly improve its education indicators in the coming years,” Sangma said during the presentation.
Original Source: https://www.indiatodayne.in/meghalaya/story/meghalayas-14600-schools-causing-resource-fragmentation-cm-conrad-sangma-tells-centre-1397532-2026-05-25?utm_source=rssfeed
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Publish Date: 2026-05-25 22:05:00
