Shillong: As many as 9,767 former school dropouts across Meghalaya have registered as private candidates for the SSLC examination under the state’s Second Chance Learning Programme, giving learners who left school an opportunity to return to education and complete Class X.
The programme is a joint initiative of the Meghalaya government, Meghalaya Board of School Education (MBOSE) and Meghalaya Programme for Adolescent Wellbeing, Empowerment and Resilience (MPOWER). The registered learners will prepare for the SSLC examination scheduled for December 2026.
Macdonald Marak, Director of the Shillong Regional Office of MBOSE, said the response to the private SSLC pathway showed that many learners who had left school still wanted to complete their education.
“The response to the Private SSLC pathway shows that many learners who had to leave school still want an opportunity to complete their education,” he said.
Registrations have been received from all 12 districts and include adolescents, young adults and older learners. There is no upper age limit for candidates.
The oldest registered candidate is 59-year-old Sylvester Shadap from Thadrang Umngem village in Ri Bhoi district. Shadap left school in 1989 and is now preparing to appear for the SSLC examination after a gap of nearly four decades.
“I dropped out of school in 1989, so it has been approximately 37 years since then. Honestly, I knew within myself that coming back for further studies was over. But my goal is to encourage the children of this generation, my own household, and also those children who have dropped out and left their education,” Shadap said.
He said returning to education was also an effort to set an example for his family and community.
“Returning for the SSLC examination is to set an example for all the adolescents, starting from my own family. We understand that adolescents are the future of the State and this generation. This is what encouraged me personally to return to this examination,” he said.
Shadap said adapting to changes in the curriculum after a 37-year gap had been one of his main challenges, but he remained determined to prepare for the examination.
The programme has 171 notified learning and assessment centres across Meghalaya. Ri Bhoi district has 690 registered candidates, while the Mawlasnai centre has 185 learners.
The Private SSLC pathway is aimed at learners who left school because of financial difficulties, family responsibilities, migration, early marriage, geographical barriers and other circumstances. It allows them to prepare for the examination without returning to a conventional full-time school.
MBOSE is responsible for the academic and examination framework, while MPOWER supports the programme through community mobilisation, learner orientation, mentoring, registration, follow-up and learner tracking.
MPOWER, in collaboration with MBOSE, has also supported the development and distribution of free self-study materials in Khasi, Garo, Mathematics, Science, Social Science, English and Health.
The programme also aims to connect learners with opportunities after the SSLC examination, including higher secondary education, vocational education, skills training and livelihood opportunities.
The Second Chance Learning Programme is aligned with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020’s emphasis on flexible learning, inclusion, re-entry into education and lifelong learning.
For the thousands of registered learners, the December SSLC examination will offer an opportunity to resume their education and pursue further skills development and livelihood pathways.
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