The Meghalaya government has reaffirmed its commitment to bolstering the education sector by increasing budget for the department by 14% for FY 2024. In order to increase access to higher education, the state intends to open eight or nine additional government institutions in a variety of subject areas. “We will be having almost close to 8-9 new government colleges in different disciplines being activated this year itself in terms of higher and technical education,” stated Conrad K. Sangma, the chief minister.
There are currently 4,172 aided schools and colleges in the state, including 47 in East Khasi Hills, 15 in West Garo Hills, and 10 in Ri Bhoi. The number of institutions in the other districts is in the single digits. In an effort to improve higher education, the state has also increased the number of colleges under its People’s College program to 23.
“We have pursued numerous People’s Colleges. Today, there are twenty-three People’s Colleges. Once more, the goal is to improve our state’s higher education system. We now have a state university of our own. It was originally intended to be a technical university, but due to the CUET problem, which permits colleges to affiliate with the state university in order to avoid taking the CUET exam, it is now a full-fledged state university, Sangma noted.
