Hints politicians not to interfere in the education system
KOHIMA, JUNE 8: Advisor for School Education & SCERT, Kekhrielhoulie Yhome today said the up-gradation of Government schools will depend on the outcome of the performance report of the respective schools for the last 10 years.
Yhome said this while speaking at the inaugural session of the 2-day State level coordination and review meeting with District Mission Authorities (DMAs) and Educational Block Research Centres (EBRCs) organised by Nagaland Education Mission Society, Samagra Shiksha Nagaland (SSN) at Administrative Training Institute here.
The Education Department is presently collecting data on the performance of all the 1939 Government schools in the State for the last 10 years, he informed.
Specially mentioning that politicians seek up-gradation of their constituency schools, he said it will be done on going through the performance of the last 10 years.
“I want less and less interference from politicians in the education sector”, he said.
“Filling a bucket with a hole is useless therefore the up-gradation of schools will depend on their performance for the last 10 years”, said Yhome, who has already been an educationist before joining politics.
He also informed that the poorly performing schools will be given three more years to improve but if they do not there won’t be an option but to close down.
Nevertheless, he urged teachers and Department officials to give their best, saying that “we have to grow together”.
In this, he said that suggestions of the Trainers of Teachers (ToTs) and EBRC coordinators will also be taken on continuing or closing down schools performing badly.
Village Council and student unions of the respective area will be engaged to provide statistics of students from 2 to 9 years of age so that they can be brought into the mainstream education system, he said.
Teachers need to be recognized for their performance because many teachers without political influence are out in the remote areas with dedication and giving their best while many with political influence want to be at Dimapur and Kohima, he said.
Stressing on equitable chances for teachers to serve in all places, he said there are around 19000 Government teachers in Nagaland and all need to work together while each one has to give their best to uplift Government schools.
Expressing happiness that this year the results of Government schools have improved in a huge way and there is a rush for Higher Secondary Schools, he attributed the improvement to the better qualified teachers in Government schools despite the pathetic conditions of the school buildings.
However, he also expressed unhappiness that unable to provide admission to all successful HSLC students due to less class rooms in Government schools.
“So if the HSS is doing better why are the high schools lagging behind despite the better qualified teachers and we need to reflect on it”, he said.
As the new Advisor of the School Education in the present dispensation, it is frustrating at times that there is too much interference from politicians on transfers and postings due to public pressure.
Lamenting that the School Education Directorate does not know how many graduate and primary teachers are employed under it, he said, an exercise is being conducted to find the actual number to be finished by July 31.
“We are in the process of starting the Nagaland Education Administrative Services soon”, he informed, while requesting all cadres of the Education Department to cooperate with each other for better performance. The Department will also soon come out with new service rules as the 2017 Service Rules is apprehensive with a lot of loopholes because of a piecemeal solution to the various issues within the Department, he said.
Meanwhile, saying that many training programmes are being organized by School Education and its sister organizations like the NBSE, SCERT and Samagra Shiksha, he informed that a common calendar will be developed to avoid replication.
Also stressing on the need to re-strengthen the Director of School Education, he said “We all need to work together as a team with professional growth.”
He suggested that someone with classroom experience should reach the top of the Department and give directions on how to bring about quality changes in the education system of the State.
Commissioner & Secretary, Kevileno Angami said that there has been improvement in the school education indicators of Nagaland from 2020-21 and 2021-22 in terms of the transition rates at the elementary and secondary level which has resulted in reduction of school dropouts.
It is primarily because of those in schools and blocks transacting education in the classroom supported by the various activities carried out by all DMAs and EBRCs, she said.
Congratulating them, she said there are a lot of challenges and issues when it comes to implementation of various activities in the blocks and in the schools.
Emphasizing on the need to be adaptive to the changes under National Education Policy 2020, she said that with the implementation of the NEP 2020 various activities are being imposed on the State to be implemented in the blocks and schools by the Department.
The various activities under NEP 2020 have been brought out after much thought and research by policy makers and though the activities might not be directly academic but they are to supplementing the academic requirement of the children so that they are moulded to build their skill and think critically as future citizens of the State, she said.
In this, she said the DMAs, EBRC coordinators and ToTs have a very critical role and they have to be conscious that the activities have to be meaningfully carried out and transacted in the schools, she said.
She also encouraged them to learn from the districts performing well and if shortcomings are found mid-term actions should be taken for improvement.
“Our action will have ramifications on children”, she said while appealing to all to be sincere for a positive impact on the child in the school.
Mission Director of Samagra Shiksha Nagaland (SSN), Temsunaro Aier said that with the implementation of NEP 2020 many activities have been imposed through SSN on a mission mode.
“We really need to build up the skills to implement the NEP 2020. We require the highest level of dedication and commitment and to be motivated to resolve any issues at the shortest possible time as most of the works under NEP are strictly time bound”, she said.
It requires each one of us to be more innovative and creative keeping in mind the emerging trend and the challenges in the education sector in line with NEP 2020, she said.
Under NEP 2020 the role of EBRCs has become very significant to ensure and evaluate the quality of education at school level on a constant basis, she said.
EBRCs should function as a repository of academic resources, including Teaching Learning Materials specifically relevant to Nipun Bharat Mission with stress on Children with Special Needs, she said.
They also have to be extra vigilant in identifying dropout children as the focus is that every child should be in mainstream school by 2030, she said.
Asking the DMAs, EBRC and ToTs not to be complacent and change the mindset that they are on holiday or rehabilitation posting, she said, “We have to pull up our shocks as it is a major responsibility”.
Joint Mission Directors of SSN Dr Kevizakie Rio and Dr Bijano Murry made power-point presentations on activities of Samagra Shiksha and micro improvement plans in the education sector respectively.
SSN Deputy Mission Director Kelhikha Kenye chaired the inaugural session.
(Page News Service)
