Meghalaya govt to send fact-finding teams to schools to probe low enrollment

The Meghalaya Education Department is all set to send fact-finding teams to schools across the state to identify issues of low enrollment, absentee or proxy teachers, and inadequate infrastructure.

Rakkam K Sangma highlighted several alarming issues, including schools with zero students, absentee or proxy teachers and cases where the number of teachers exceeds the number of students.

Speaking to media, Minister Sangma said, “We understand there are many schools with zero enrolment. There are many schools where teachers never go to the school. There are many schools with proxy teachers. There are many schools with single digit enrolment. There are many schools with no buildings. There are many schools having more teachers than students. There are many schools having 4 teachers and 2 students.”

“So we will be sending the fact finding team or group of team so that we will get the details of every teachers and school. At the same time, we are working out the modalities on how to absorb the teachers, be it SSA, be it adhoc, deficits because we are the same family,” he added.

“Meghalaya has the highest dropout rate in the country and lowest performance grading index (PGI) ranking, because this is directly connected to the performance of the teachers”, Sangma stated.
“Our education system especially in the lower primary is not up to the mark. We encourage teachers to focus on their duties and they should give quality education and government is looking at options, what we can do. We had meeting with chief minister, and chief minister had asked the department to give details presentation before we go ahead,” Minister said.

He further added, “The department will definitely take action against teachers who have outsourced their teaching jobs to other people. If we receive formal complaints from anybody (outsources his teaching job), law will take its own course. The department will definitely take necessary step to address the issue.”
The Minister has also expressed concern about the high dropout rates in Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) schools and rejected intimidation from teachers who prioritize salary increases over improving
“The Meghalaya government is working on a formula to address this issue and ensure fair compensation for teachers”, Sangma said.

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