Meghalaya's Paul Lyngdoh Advocates for Education Reforms Commission

Shillong, India Aug 27, 2026 ALN: Shillong: UDP leader and West Shillong MLA Paul Lyngdoh on Thursday called for an immediate reforms commission for Meghalaya’s education sector, saying the system had expanded faster than its quality had improved.

Taking part in a Short Duration Discussion on the state of education in the Meghalaya Assembly, Lyngdoh said the state needed to revive the “passion and spark” that had once made Shillong an education hub of the Northeast.

Quoting Irish poet W.B. Yeats, he said, “Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a spark.”

Lyngdoh recalled Shillong’s educational legacy, citing prominent personalities who had studied in the state. He referred to diplomat Jodhna Hinga and highlighted the record of St Edmund’s College, Shillong, which he said had produced two former Chief Election Commissioners of India, Harishankar Brahma and J.M. Lyngdoh.

He also said the college had produced four Chief Ministers, including P.A. Sangma, Mukul Sangma, D.D. Pala, and I.K. Mawlong.

According to Lyngdoh, the fact that two former Chief Election Commissioners had studied in Shillong was a distinction shared only by St Stephen’s College in Delhi.

He said these achievements should not simply be remembered as part of the past but should encourage the state to rebuild its reputation as an education destination.

Recalling a visit to Bangladesh with former chief minister Mukul Sangma, Lyngdoh said he attended a gathering at the Dhaka Club where he met around 10 to 12 people, at least eight of whom had studied in Shillong.

On the current education scenario, Lyngdoh welcomed the reported improvement in Meghalaya’s PISA score from 448.0 in 2024-25 to 525.71 in 2025-26. However, he noted that Meghalaya remained the lowest-scoring state among the eight northeastern states in the latest assessment.

He said Meghalaya’s score was still below those of Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, and Tripura.

“The question is not simply whether we are improving, but whether we are improving fast enough,” Lyngdoh said, stressing the need to examine the gap with other northeastern states.

He also questioned the declining preference for the Meghalaya Board of School Education (MBOSE), saying there was a time when parents actively sought admission for their children in MBOSE-affiliated schools.

Lyngdoh raised concerns over the timing of the Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SSLC) examinations, asking why they were held in December and January when Assam, despite having a warmer climate, conducts them in February.

He argued that the current schedule gives students less time to prepare, disadvantaging those involved in extracurricular activities.

Lyngdoh criticized the prescribed textbook system under MBOSE, suggesting that schools in lower and middle classes should have flexibility in selecting books suited to their students.

He further criticized the introduction of major reforms without adequate institutional preparation, referring to biannual examinations and the removal of the Best of Five system.

Lyngdoh emphasized that reforms should have been preceded by measures to strengthen teacher training, counselling, academic support, school infrastructure, and examination capacity.

He suggested that the government consider measures such as conditional flexibility, compensatory passing, and grace marks linked to overall performance.

Lyngdoh questioned whether conducting two examinations a year had achieved its intended purpose, saying some students could end up taking both examinations less seriously.

He pointed to concerns over the overall capacity of the education system, citing figures that showed Meghalaya’s performance in governance stood at 85.6 percent, while its performance in teacher education and training was only 0.6 percentage points above the national lowest.

“These figures point to a system that has expanded faster than its quality has improved,” he said.

Lyngdoh also referred to data showing that Meghalaya had more than 14,500 schools, including 206 with zero enrolment and 2,269 with fewer than 10 students.

He suggested that instead of continuing to add schools, the government should consolidate where necessary and strengthen institutions that were serving students.

He noted concerns raised by several writers over Meghalaya’s high spending on education despite weak outcomes.

Lyngdoh urged the Education Department to improve its performance and restore Shillong’s position as an education hub of the Northeast.

He concluded by returning to Yeats’ reference to education as the “lighting of a spark,” emphasizing that this spark needed to be reignited for Shillong and Meghalaya to regain its position as an education destination.