Meghalaya Health Minister Dr M Ampareen Lyngdoh has raised serious concerns over the tragic deaths of two students from the state in Karnataka due to food poisoning, calling for stricter scrutiny of educational institutions where students are enrolled. The Health Minister emphasized the need for greater awareness among parents and communities before sending children to study in unfamiliar institutions.
“So this is a matter of deep concern. We don’t know the extent of cases of this nature in the past, but we definitely know that there should be adequate awareness, be it to parents also, as they prepare to send their children to unknown institutions. We have to educate firstly, our own community. We have to make sure that if you’re sending your child to a specific designation, you should know exactly where you’re sending them, the credibility of the institution, the management of the institution, all of this,” she said.
Dr. Lyngdoh stressed that many parents remain unaware of the arrangements made for their children’s education, leading to situations where recruitment happens without scrutiny. “Most of the time, we are not privy to these arrangements. This is a perfect situation where we are not aware and that this recruitment is being done without scrutiny. Yes, this is a lesson learned, and I am sure that the education department will also give its own protocols henceforth.”
Calling for stricter measures to prevent similar incidents, she said, “I’m sure that this type of an eye-opening tragic incident should never occur again. We must scrutinize, we must give stringent advisories—where are we sending our children? What are these institutions like? We have heard in the past students passing out from these different kinds of courses, which are not recognized. Investments have been made by the families. We are also seeing the credibility of institutions, especially when such a large number of our students are studying in a particular institution. So, yes, we must get into fact-finding, and yes, we must caution our citizens.”
Expressing grief over the loss of young lives, she reaffirmed the government’s commitment to seeking justice. “Yes, we are very, very sad about this unfortunate incident of the demise of two of our young students who were studying in Karnataka. And yes, the government is putting pressure on the Karnataka government to ensure that there will be justice, there should be inquiries, and there should be follow-ups. And we feel very, very disheartened to know that these two young lives went in search of education. This is the result of their ambition, and I feel very bad that this has happened.”
Dr. Lyngdoh assured that the Meghalaya government is actively involved in the investigation. “The government already has sent an officer at the highest level to inquire and to find out details and to bring back, in as quick a manner as possible, the remains of these two students. Today, we lost another boy, and we will not rest till the government of Karnataka has taken stock of this entire situation. And we send our condolences to the bereaved family and express our anguish and our concern that an incident like this could have happened.”