Shillong, Sept 23: Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma today laid the foundation stone for the new building of the MBoSE Regional Office, Shillong and virtually inaugurated 81 new school infrastructure buildings across Meghalaya constructed under Mission Education Phase-II.
MLA Dr. M. Ampareen Lyngdoh, along with senior officials of the Education Department and MBoSE, were present on the occasion.
Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Minister said that the MBoSE Regional Office Shillong has been functioning from temporary accommodation for the last 45 years. Established in September 1981 as the Shillong Cell to serve the Khasi-Jaintia region, the office operated from the Inspector of Schools office at Mawkhar, the Education Guest House at Laitumkhrah (1995), the MBoSE Guest House (1998) and the Taxation Building at Lower Lachumiere since 22 December 2005.
The office currently supervises all 7 districts of Khasi-Jaintia, 1,329 secondary schools, 397 higher secondary schools, 97 SSLC centres, 78 HSSLC centres and appoints over 1,300 examiners annually.
During the programme, the Chief Minister also launched the CM Impact Guide book powered by AI. He also released grants under Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan: School Uniform Grant 2026-27: Rs. 600 per student for 2,98,013 students (1,47,419 boys and 1,50,594 girls) amounting to Rs. 17.88 crore, transferred directly through DBT to Aadhaar-linked bank accounts of parents/guardians, including composite grant, textbook grant and inclusive education grant.
These include Education entitlements for Children with Special Needs: Total Rs. 57.62 lakh for 3,440 beneficiaries – Escort allowance (852), Transport allowance (908), Stipend for girls (924) and Home-based education for 756 children who cannot attend school buildings. A total composite grant of 49.8 Cr.
Speaking on the State’s education transformation, the Chief Minister said, “Running 1000 kilometres or climbing Mount Everest – it’s something like that. We realised we must have a roadmap. We need a policy. We need to know where we are, where we want to go, and how we will get there.”
He said governance is not about big, massive steps alone, but about small, effective steps. Recalling the start of Mission Education in 2019, when the requirement was estimated at Rs. 3000 crore, he said the Government started with Rs. 100 crore.
Mission Education has now committed Rs. 457.41 crore across 2,230 schools – Phase 1 (208 schools – Rs. 109.33 cr), Phase 2 (111 schools – Rs. 97.38 cr), Phase 3 Engineering Cell (117 schools – Rs. 57.12 cr), Phase 3 MIDFC (1,608 schools – Rs. 62.50 cr) and Phase 4 (186 schools – Rs. 131.08 cr). In parallel, 182 schools have been modernised with digital classrooms, STEM labs and ICT under the ADB-supported SHCDM project.
The Chief Minister said investment was accompanied by rationalisation of the school network from 14,582 to 11,443 schools, merging zero and single-digit enrolment schools to concentrate teachers and resources where children are. 118 schools have been upgraded to Higher Secondary, raising the number from 427 in 2024-25 to 545 in 2025-26.
Highlighting that outcomes matter more than expenditure, he cited CM IMPACT, the AI-powered online tutoring platform. The platform provides chapter-wise content for every subject, chatbot support, mock tests and question explanations, and will be extended in offline mode.
“A child at 15, 16, 17 has just started dreaming. Then comes the SSLC exam and 50% don’t make it. In Garo Hills it was only 25%. Before the child learns to fly, you cut off their wings. This is not an IAS exam. We cannot accept this.”
He said the focused intervention through CM IMPACT has contributed to a 41.2 percentage point rise in pass percentage. Sharing the State’s progress, the Chief Minister said, “PGI 2.0 Score: 448 (2024, Akanshi-3) to 525.71 (2026, Akanshi-1) – up by 77.71 points, now at par with 15 other states. Target: cross 580 points and 700 points to enter top 10 states in 2 years.
The Chief Minister said the Government is following a life-cycle approach – from conception in the mother’s womb till old age – with different interventions at each stage. Cost should never be the reason for a child to stop education, which is being addressed through Uniform Grants at school stage and Chief Minister’s Scholarship Scheme for nearly one lakh students from Class XI to doctoral level, and the SSLC Private Candidate route for dropouts, sportspersons and artistes with no upper age limit.
On implementation, he cited the Japanese model of 90% planning and 10% execution, stating that analysing micro problems leads to effective results with minimum investment.
Lauding local MLA Dr. Ampareen Lyngdoh, the Chief Minister mentioned recent developments in Laitumkhrah constituency including the Rs. 24 crore shopping complex at Barik, Malki, indoor stadium and the Rs. 35 crore marketing complex at Laitumkhrah, and steps to provide space for hawkers to free footpaths for pedestrians.
