SHILLONG: If the Education Department’s plans come to fruition, students in Meghalaya may soon attend school without the burden of heavy bags, at least one day a week.
Education Minister Rakkam A Sangma revealed ambitious proposals to transform the state’s educational framework during a recent assembly session.
Schools have been instructed to designate certain days as “bag-less days”, allowing students to attend classes without the burden of heavy bags and actively participate in curricular activities, a national daily reported.
“To facilitate the implementation of activities under the New Education Policy (NEP), schools have been granted the flexibility to observe ‘bag-less days’ based on a suggestive list of 10 themes,” Minister Sangma said in response to queries from the opposition bench.
He further stressed that schools would have the autonomy to select the days for these initiatives.
Elaborating further, Minister Sangma outlined the forthcoming standard operating procedures for implementing bag-less days, which would be incorporated into the official notification.
Additionally, strategies for devising lesson plans and teaching methodologies aligned with NEP guidelines would be detailed in subsequent notifications.
The Education Minister underscored the department’s commitment to transitioning towards formative assessments as advocated by NEP.
He stressed the importance of this shift and encouraged schools to embrace these assessments gradually.
Addressing the pressing need for educational reform, Minister Sangma acknowledged the challenges faced by the state’s education system.
“The status of school education in Meghalaya necessitates significant improvement, as evident from indicators such as dropout rates, knowledge gaps among students, and poor pass percentages,” he remarked.
He attributed these issues to various factors including weak foundational learning, inadequate grasp of concepts, low minimum learning levels, untrained teachers, and ineffective teaching and assessment practices.
