Shillong, Sep 29 — As many as 9,767 former school dropouts across Meghalaya have registered as private candidates for the upcoming Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SSLC) examination, giving them a second opportunity to complete their Class X education, officials said on Tuesday.
The registrations were made under the state's Second Chance Learning Program, a joint initiative of the Meghalaya government, the Meghalaya Board of School Education (MBOSE) and the Meghalaya Program for Adolescent Wellbeing, Empowerment and Resilience (MPOWER).
A senior official said the private SSLC examination is scheduled for December 2026 and aims to provide a flexible pathway for learners who discontinued their formal education to return and complete Class X without rejoining a conventional full-time school.
According to the programme, registrations have been received from all 12 districts of Meghalaya and include adolescents, young adults and older learners.
The programme has 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 nearly four decades later.
Shadap said he had dropped out of school in 1989, around 37 years ago. He added that he wanted to encourage children and others who had left school to return to education.
He acknowledged the challenges of preparing for an examination after such a long gap, particularly adapting to curriculum changes, but said he remained determined to work hard.
The programme has established 171 notified learning and assessment centres across Meghalaya.
Ri Bhoi district alone has 690 registered candidates, while the Mawlasnai centre has 185 learners.
The private SSLC pathway caters to learners who may have left school because of financial difficulties, family responsibilities, migration, early marriage, geographical barriers, or other circumstances.
MBOSE provides the academic and examination framework, while MPOWER supports community mobilisation, mentoring, registration, learner tracking, and follow-up.
The program has also developed and distributed free self-study materials in Khasi, Garo, Mathematics, Science, Social Science, English and Health.
The initiative also aims to connect successful learners with higher secondary education, vocational education, skills training and livelihood opportunities.
The program aligns with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020's emphasis on flexible learning, inclusion, re-entry into education, and lifelong learning.