Meghalaya Education Minister R G Lyngdoh has come up with an idea to overcome the shortage of institutions offering professional courses in the state. “Operation Sustainability”, a project that proposes to provide vocational training to students in residential schools, has been placed before the Cabinet for approval. The project is likely to be operational from August.Lyngdoh said the schools would be linked with various departments of the state Government like Agriculture, Horticulture, Fisheries, Veterinary and Industries. Students would bve required to take up the various schemes that these department offer and implement them.Lyngdoh told The Indian Express that “Operation Sustainability” would also benefit the rural population. He said most professional courses are designed keeping in mind the needs of the urban youth. The rural youth, he said, are not really interested in becoming airhostesses or stewards, but look for “gainful employment” in areas where they are tuned in.Lyngdoh said there are many such schemes that could be handed over to these schools for the students to implement. “At the end of the project, I hope the students would learn something that they could use in a profession when they complete their studies,” he said. If a student from a rural area is involved in implementing a scheme related to agriculture or horticulture, he would learn some skills that could come useful later. Lyngdoh said if students are equipped with latest technological knowledge of agriculture, there is a likelihood of them taking to agriculture as profession. This would also check the migration to urban areas for job opportunities.
