SHILONG – The Voice of the People Party (VPP) has demanded the immediate removal of Vijay Kumar Mantri as Commissioner and Secretary of Meghalaya’s Education Department, launching a sharp attack on the way education policies are being framed and implemented in the state.
The party said the administration’s handling of the structured pay framework, welfare of teachers in deficit grant-in-aid institutions, service conditions and school rationalisation has created serious uncertainty among teachers and raised concerns over the accessibility and quality of education.
VPP said the problem goes beyond individual policies, arguing that the approach adopted by the department is increasingly disconnected from the realities faced by teachers, students and communities across Meghalaya.
The party said the manner in which the policies have been conceived and implemented can “reasonably be perceived as anti-people” and insensitive to the interests of local educators and communities.
It also took aim at what it termed as an excessive reliance on bureaucratic rationalisation and numerical efficiency, arguing that Meghalaya’s education system cannot be administered through numbers while ignoring the state’s distinct social, geographical and local conditions.
“Meghalaya’s education system cannot be reduced to bureaucratic rationalisation and numerical efficiency while disregarding its unique social, geographical and local realities,” the statement said.
The party has therefore called for Mantri’s immediate removal from the post of Commissioner and Secretary of the Education Department, while demanding a different approach to education administration.
VPP said the state needs leadership that listens to teachers, respects local realities and puts the interests of students and the people of Meghalaya above bureaucratic convenience.
