Shillong, Oct 13: Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma has asked fellows under the newly launched Chief Minister’s Leadership in Education and Development (CMLEAD) Fellowship to visit schools regularly, assess ground realities and suggest measures to improve learning outcomes across the state.
Interacting with the inaugural cohort at an induction ceremony at his residence in Shillong on Tuesday, Sangma said the fellows could help bridge the gap between government programmes and what students experience in classrooms.
The Chief Minister and Education Minister Lahkmen Rymbui handed over laptops to the inducted fellows, who will be deployed across all 12 districts of Meghalaya.
The state-led fellowship will place young professionals within the education system, where they will work with Samagra Shiksha, the Directorate of Educational Research and Training (DERT) and district education offices to support the implementation of priority initiatives.
Emphasising the need to assess education beyond infrastructure, Sangma said the construction of school buildings alone does not guarantee better learning.
“Making a new building is not making education necessarily better. It is providing the infrastructure. But education becomes better when that building helps a child to get education and the quality of education goes up,” he said.
He said officials and elected representatives could sometimes become caught up in administrative and day-to-day responsibilities, leaving them disconnected from conditions on the ground.
The fellows, he said, could help bring those realities into the government’s decision-making process.
Sangma asked the Education Department to assign fellows specific responsibilities, targets and reporting mechanisms, supported by measurable indicators and accountability.
He suggested that each fellow visit at least one school every week and submit an assessment covering infrastructure, sanitation facilities, furniture and the quality of learning. The assessments should include checks on separate toilets for girls and feedback gathered directly from students.
The department, he said, should determine the indicators against which the fellows’ work would be assessed.
CM calls for greater community participation
Beyond monitoring schools, Sangma urged the fellows to mobilise local communities to support institutions facing challenges.
He suggested that fellows reach out to village headmen, church leaders, students and non-governmental organisations to encourage regular school visits and voluntary teaching.
Community members could contribute an hour or two to help students, teach English or even take collective responsibility for supporting a school, he said.
The Chief Minister described the fellowship as an opportunity for young professionals to gain first-hand experience of governance and public service, comparing it to an internship that would expose them to the functioning of government.
He also encouraged the fellows to submit ideas that could inform policy changes and education reforms, asking them to approach difficult field conditions and remote postings as opportunities to make a difference.
“Don’t look at the problems as a challenge, look at it as an opportunity for you to be able to do something to change it,” Sangma told the fellows.
The fellowship is intended to strengthen the implementation of education initiatives at the district level, with fellows working alongside existing government institutions to identify gaps and support improvements in student learning outcomes.
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