Assures to see that such kinds of inconveniences do not happen to the teachers
Morung Express News
Kohima | September 5
The Nagaland State Level Teachers’ Day Celebration organised by the Department of School Education was held on September 5 at the NBCC Convention Centre with Yitachu, Minister for School Education and SCERT as the chief guest.
Chief Guest Yitachu said that many nil-result schools were converted to success stories because of good teachers. He, however, mentioned that despite much effort, the education system has many shortfalls, he cited instances like slow promotion for teachers, inability to get salary on time for teachers of Centrally Sponsored Schemes etc.
“It pains me to see all those problems and I take responsibility. There are areas where we need cooperation and I’m with you, I shall see to it that such kinds of inconveniences do not happen to our teachers” he said.
Yitachu also lauded the efforts and sacrifices of the teachers who, despite meager salaries, contribute immensely in imparting education to the students with passion and dedication. In order to tackle the various challenges in the current education system in Nagaland Yitachu suggested the focus in the future needs to be, firstly, to give quality education to the students with special emphasis on primary education and secondly to instill the fear of God in students. Yitachu asked all the teachers and the Education Department to rededicate themselves and focus on primary education.
The education system in Nagaland should be to provide jobs and not just to provide skills, he viewed and pointed the lack of ideas and innovations among Nagas. This, he said is one reason why developmental activities do not take place in the State. Yitachu also added that the success of the students will be the greatest gift to the teachers.
Yitachu also deliberated on the shortage of Science and Math teachers. He mentioned that some of the posts for Science and Math were converted to other posts when there was a shortage of Science and Math teachers but he expressed hope that, with the recent recruitment of RMSA teachers, a solution will be found.
Nini Sekhose, General Secretary of the All Nagaland Private Schools Association, Nini Sekhose state that “A teacher is someone who has decided to dedicate the rest of his or her life to make a difference in the world. They are on the front lines of battle every day. This is a profession that demands everything that you have and therefore, should not be entered into lightly.”
While congratulating the State Awardees, Sekhose also gave a ‘special congratulatory’ note to the teachers from the private schools, who despite the fact that their remunerations are much lesser compared to their counterparts in the Government, their commitment and zeal to the cause of education has no parallel.
More than 80% of the student populations in Nagaland are in private schools. Private schools are producing the best results at a fraction of the cost incurred by Govt. schools per child, added Sekhose which according to her is possible because of the low fees charged by most of the private schools who run their institutions with “missionary zeal.”
“I would also like to take this opportunity to remind the Government, the Minister of School Education, about a promise that was made on Teachers Day 2014. It was promised that Private Schools would be provided with Maths and Science Teachers, however we see that teachers for these two subjects are deficient even in Government schools, we truly sympathize with the predicament of the government for this sad state of affairs. In spite of the very good intention of the government this has not come to pass. The road to hell is said to be paved with roads of good intention,” concluded Sekhose.
Meanwhile FP Solo, Commissioner and Secretary, School Education and SCERT exhorted the teachers to realize the enormous responsibility thrust upon them by the parents and society. “It is our collective responsibility to teach and educate children. Because of the hard works of the teachers, Nagaland has made much progress in the field of education. We have been able to surpass the national average in terms of literacy,” said Solo.
Quality Education remains a matter of great concern
Despite the mentioned achievements, FP Solo affirmed that quality education remains a matter of great concern to all. “Our achievements in areas like Gross Enrolment ratio, Net enrolment Ratio, Transition rate, Retention rate, Dropout rate, Pupil Teacher Ratio rate and Pass percentage of government schools are not at all satisfactory,” said Solo who also pointed out the lack of well trained and qualified teachers to impart quality education.
There are nearly 12,000 government teachers in Nagaland and nearly 65 % of government school teachers and more than 70 % of private school teachers are still yet to be trained.
While Nagaland’s score in the National Achievement Survey shows that the students are doing fairly well in English language and social science, Solo informed that their learning outcome in Maths and Science is below national average. The ASER 2014 results indicated that 8% of our class VIII students could not read class II text and 33.2 % of them could not do divisions. The survey shows that the teaching learning process is not properly taking place in some schools. Therefore, Solo hoped that the CCE is strictly implemented in all the schools in the State.
Solo further the recently held National Eligibility cum entrance Test (NEET) for admissions to MBBS and BDS course where no Naga student qualified. “Our children also should develop competitive spirit, work hard and compete with other children in other parts of the country. Besides that we need to build a stronger foundation for Maths and Science education in the State. It is a big challenge to all of us-policy makers, school managers, teachers, parents and students. But we cannot shirk our responsibility, if we want to build a better future for our children and our society,” concluded Solo.
