Education should promote compassion and respect and evoke hope for a better future: KJCLF

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaJanuary 8, 2025

The Khasi Jaintia Christian Leaders Forum (KJCLF) on Wednesday said the Meghalaya government should be ranked first in the country over its ostentatiousness and garish display of its intention to inaugurate its first secular State University with a zealously proposed Christian religious ceremony.

Famous for hosting flamboyant festivals which often reach levels of exclusiveness and extortion, and popular for conducting countless inaugurations it is tragically sad that Meghalaya ranks among the lowest in the country on the status and level of education, secretary of the forum Rev Dr Edwin H Kharkongor said in a statement.

“Setting up institutions of higher education is greatly appreciated and must be supported, however the much ado fanfare of the proposed inauguration for the Captain Williamson Sangma State University on January 13 and the ruckus it has already created is certainly far from Christian or religious for that matter. In our country, religion and faith are in the personal realms of the individual, and we share in the fraternal relationships of secularism as enshrined in the Indian Constitution,” he said.

“As Christian leaders in the State we believe that the zeal and time of Education Minister Rakkam A Sangma and resources of the Sangma led government be much better channelised into improving the efficiency of this department and timely addressing the needs of the students and the teachers in the institutions of learning within the State. Education should promote compassion and respect and evoke hope for a better future. We wish to see our State and Central governments manifest the values of commitment and dedication in its service to the learning and teaching of its citizens,” Rev Kharkongor added further.