Shillong, Dec 19: In a landmark move to empower its adolescents, the Government of Meghalaya has announced a three-year partnership with Magic Bus India Foundation to launch a comprehensive initiative under the flagship programme Meghalaya Programme for Adolescent Wellbeing, Empowerment, and Resilience (MPOWER).
This collaboration aims to equip adolescents in government schools across Meghalaya with Life Skills, Employability Education and Foundational Literacy & Numeracy programmes.
Meghalaya has nearly 1 million students enrolled from Class 1 to Class 12, as per the UDISE+ 2021-22 report. This includes 530,390 in primary, 244,008 in upper primary, 117,496 in secondary, and 63,044 in higher secondary levels, highlighting the state’s significant school enrollment figures.
This underscores the significance of this partnership, addressing the pressing need to enhance education and skill-building opportunities for the state’s youth.
The partnership will focus on equipping adolescents in Grades 6–10 with essential life skills and employability education through a teacher-led life skills education programme, preparing them for personal and professional success.
The intervention will also involve building capacity of state institutions by building a cohort of Master Trainers that will train teachers, in collaboration with the State Education Department, to deliver a curriculum tailored to the State’s socio-cultural context.
For out-of-school adolescents, Community Learning Centres will be identified to impart Foundational Literacy and Numeracy programmes, helping build core competencies and facilitating reintegration into formal education.
The curriculum will be implemented in South West Khasi Hills, West Jaintia Hills, and West Garo Hills, starting with Life Skills Classes in Year 1.
This initiative also supports Meghalaya’s Sustainable Goals (SDGs) and aligns with the objectives of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and the National Curriculum Framework (NCF) 2023, prioritising holistic development of adolescents to thrive academically and socially in the 21st century and enabling their transition into the world of work.
Speaking about the initiative, Sampath Kumar, Development Commissioner and Principal Secretary, Government of Meghalaya, emphasized the state’s ongoing commitment to addressing the challenges in the education sector.
“There has been continuous thought and planning to address these issues, and we need to integrate external efforts with the state’s existing strategies. While we are implementing these interventions, it’s important to understand what the state is already doing and work alongside those efforts to build state capacity.”
During the MoU signing, Jayant Rastogi, Global CEO, Magic Bus India Foundation, said, “We would like to congratulate the Government of Meghalaya for conceptualising and launching the MPOWER programme, which recognizes the need to invest in adolescents and youth to unlock their potential and that of the state.
By prioritising adolescent life skills and well-being, enabling education to create pathways to work, and investing in skill-building to take advantage of work opportunities in India and globally, this ambitious programme framework addresses the needs of the times.
Magic Bus is privileged to contribute to this journey by strengthening life skills education in schools and enabling out-of-school adolescents to pursue alternative education and work pathways.
The recently launched Magic Bus youth skilling centre in Shillong marks the beginning of a strong and impactful partnership with the government in building the life and employability skills of young people.”
As part of this collaboration, the Youth Skilling Centre in Shillong, launched by Magic Bus India Foundation, will train 150 young women in FY 2024-25 in life and employability skills.
In partnership with the State Skill Development Department, the centre will focus on preparing youth for customer-centric roles in the service sector, both within Meghalaya and across India.
This initiative is envisioned as a stepping stone toward establishing international skills hubs, aligning with the state’s goal of making Meghalaya a hub for globally competitive talent.
The MoU signing event witnessed the participation of key stakeholders including Shri. Sampath Kumar, Principal Secretary & Development Commissioner, Government of Meghalaya, Shri. Vijay Kumar Mantri, Commissioner & Secretary, Education Department
Shri. Ramkumar IAS, Additional Secretary, Department of Health & Family Welfare cum Mission Director-NHM and Shri. Swapnil Tembe, Secretary, Education Department, along with the team from Magic Bus India Foundation, led by its Global CEO, Mr. Jayant Rastogi, Dhanashri Brahme, Chief of Programmes and Mr. Pallav Kumar, Regional Director, East & NE.
