Shillong, October 13: The Meghalaya Cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma, on Tuesday approved the Meghalaya School Education School Complex Rules, 2026, regularisation of 26 employees and the write-off of outstanding government dues owed by Mawmluh Cherra Cements Limited (MCCL), among other proposals.
Briefing reporters after the Cabinet meeting, Sangma said the School Complex Rules were aimed at facilitating students’ transition from lower primary to upper primary, secondary and higher secondary education.
He said Meghalaya has 9,244 lower primary schools, 2,396 upper primary schools, 1,755 secondary schools and 532 higher secondary schools. The declining number of schools at successive levels creates difficulties for students seeking admission and often requires them to complete repeated admission formalities.
Under the proposed arrangement, lower primary and upper primary schools would be linked to designated nodal schools to simplify students’ progression, including transitions from Class V to Class VI and Class VIII to Class IX.
The Chief Minister clarified that participation in the school complex arrangement would be voluntary and based on consultations with schools willing to cooperate. The initiative is also intended to strengthen the network of secondary and higher secondary schools, particularly in areas where such facilities are limited.
The Cabinet also approved an amendment to Section 27(1) of the Meghalaya Cooperative Societies Act, 2015, replacing the term “registered post” with “speed post”, following instructions from the Government of India and the postal department.
In another decision, the Cabinet approved the regularisation of 26 employees appointed on an ad hoc basis against sanctioned posts who had been left out of earlier exercises.
Sangma said this was the fifth batch of regularisation undertaken in accordance with a Supreme Court ruling. He added that more than 3,000 employees, with the cumulative number approaching 4,000, had been regularised through previous exercises, although an exact total was not provided.
The Cabinet also approved writing off MCCL’s outstanding government dues amounting to approximately ₹24.43 crore. The liabilities comprise around ₹8.9 crore in sales tax dues to the Taxation Department and ₹15.53 crore in royalty dues to the Directorate of Mineral Resources.
Sangma said payments and commitments due to employees had already been fulfilled, but the outstanding liabilities remained an obstacle to completing the company’s winding-up process.
He explained that transferring government funds to MCCL to repay government departments would effectively involve moving money within the government system. The write-off was therefore considered a simpler way to facilitate the closure process.
