SHILLONG:
Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on October 27 inaugurated an NEC-funded building, a RUSA-funded infrastructure and an approach road to the College of Teacher Education (PGT) here.
Speaking during the inaugural address, he said that given the fact that there is a huge demand for seats in the college there is an urgent need for the expansion of the college.
“The college has been doing very well and there are a large number of students who seek admission, therefore the expansion of the college is needed and I am happy to see that some expansion is taking place,” he said.
He also added that education has been one of the top priorities of the government in spite of numerous challenges in the sector in terms of lack of infrastructure, training for teachers, different categories of teachers which cannot be changed in a short time as a lot of factors are involved which requires a systematic change.
Sangma also informed that cess collected from minerals is being used in education for which it is meant.
The chief minister also informed that the government works on a budget that is allotted for every department and a balance has to be maintained among different sectors.
“As much as education is important there are other sectors like health, roads, agriculture, youth, women which are also important and the government has to strike a balance among different sectors and therein comes the question of financing these sectors therefore streamlining education is a huge challenge,” he said.
However, the chief minister added that small steps and keeping up the momentum can make a difference.
He also said that as education is an important sector teachers play a very crucial role and the different teacher training programmes of the government focuses on their holistic training.
Sangma urged the college to continue to focus on compassion, professional excellence and ethically sound teachers which are crucial aspects of teacher training to achieve the ultimate object of producing responsible and productive citizens which is also the larger goal of the government.