Meghalaya to Prioritise education, health sectors in next fiscal

Updated on: Thursday, March 22, 2012

Chief Minister Mukul Sangma told the Assembly that the government has prioritised education and health in the next financial year and a slew of measures will be taken up for strengthening these two vital areas for overall development.

The Chief Minister, who also holds the finance portfolio, said the Centre has sent a letter to him indicating clearance for an Asian Development Bank funding programme which "revolves around health and education".

Sangma said during the course of his reply to discussions on the proposed budget presented on Monday that "huge amount of money will flow in (Asian Development Bank funds)".

According to the Chief Minister, the ADB funding would include building of infrastructure and imparting adequate training to teachers all over the state.

The state government had proposed a plan outlay of Rs 747 crore for the education department alone apart from a non-plan outlay of Rs 506 crore, the highest allocation so far.

The Chief Minister Emphasised on strengthening the education sector, and said that "the issues of high rate of school dropouts and distressing pass percentage among students have been 'eye-openers' for the government".

Referring to the proposals for setting up sports and music academies in the state, he said that Scholarships would also be provided to students who take up music as a career option.

Pointing out that the infrastructure in the education sector was “not enough”, Sangma said, "strategies have been chalked out to address the infrastructural gap with special focus on secondary and higher secondary schools and colleges."
 
He regreted that pre-primary school teachers had been so far receiving less than prescribed minimum wages in the state, and  announced that the revised honorarium for such teachers would henceforth be enhanced to Rs 6000 per month.

He further said that strategies have been drawn up for addressing the issues of employability and skill development among the youth in keeping with the observance of 2012 as ‘Year of the Youth in the state.

Football would be promoted as the “number one sporting activity” in the state, he said.

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