Meghalaya Schools Go Beyond Classrooms: MPOWER Turns Playgrounds into Life Skills Labs

Shillong: In a significant push to revolutionize the way education is delivered in the state, the Education Department of Meghalaya has launched an innovative project under its MPOWER programme—an initiative that transforms school playgrounds into dynamic life-skills learning zones across three districts.

This step marks a departure from the traditional “chalk-and-talk” method of teaching, replacing it with a challenge-based learning model that focuses on real-world application and personal growth. The programme is aimed at equipping students with essential 21st-century life skills such as resilience, teamwork, communication, and decision-making, all through hands-on activities in open school spaces.

The initiative comes in the wake of the successful Life Skills Curriculum Contextualization Workshop, a cornerstone of the MPOWER programme. It’s not just a curriculum tweak—it’s a complete reimagination of learning environments and methodologies.

So far, the scale of implementation has been impressive 46 Master Trainers, 1,257 teachers, and 577 school heads have been trained to roll out the life-skills curriculum effectively in schools.

“This marks a shift from chalk-and-talk to challenge and transformation—preparing every child for a confident, capable, and career-ready future,” said the department in an official statement.

The core philosophy is simple but profound: learning doesn’t only happen inside a classroom. On the playgrounds-turned-learning-zones, students are immersed in experiential learning that fosters personal development, leadership, and a deeper understanding of how to navigate life’s challenges.

This effort is part of Meghalaya’s broader educational reforms under the MPOWER programme (Meghalaya Programme for Equitable and Resilient Education), which aims to bridge learning gaps and build future-ready schools through innovative strategies and community engagement.

The initiative also aligns with national and global priorities, including the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which emphasizes holistic education, skill development, and experiential learning.

Meghalaya has long grappled with challenges in access, quality, and equity in school education, especially in remote and tribal regions. Recognizing the need for reform beyond academic performance, the MPOWER programme—funded partly by international development partners—has been focusing on equity, inclusion, and skill-based learning since its inception. The life-skills initiative represents a major stride in that direction.

As the world of education evolves, Meghalaya’s experiment in turning playgrounds into “life labs” could well be a model for other states to follow.