Morung Express News
Mokokchung | September 16
The oldest high school in the region and the second oldest in the state, Mayangnokcha Government Higher Secondary School, Mokokchung today celebrated its Platinum Jubilee with Nagaland Minister for School Education & SCERT, Yitachu as chief guest and former member of UPSC, Dr. Kilemla as guest of honour. Hundreds of the school’s former students, teachers and staff along with the more than thousand present students, faculty and staff joined the celebrations. The oldest living alumnus of the school, the Rev.Tsaikha Shohe, 96, also attended the celebration who was gifted a special token of appreciation by the school on the occasion.
Mayangnokcha GHSS was established in 1941 as the first Middle English School in the erstwhile Mokokchung Sub-Division of the Naga Hills District of Assam which comprised of the present districts of Mokokchung, Zunheboto and Wokha. When the school first opened, there were eight members of the teaching staff headed by Mayangnokcha Ao as the Headmaster, along with a peon and a ‘chawkidar’ and the total number of students enrolled in the first year for classes three to six numbered 130.
In the mean time, the need for a High School was greatly felt by the people of the region as the whole Naga Hills District at that time could boast of only one High School which was in Kohima. Therefore, the people of the region which included the people of present-day Mokokchung, Wokha, Zunheboto, Tuensang, Longleng and Mon districts started a private High School in 1943. The first batch consisting of six candidates from this school appeared for the HSLC Examination of Gauhati University in 1947 securing a 100% pass result.
Then, with effect from April 1, 1948 the Government Middle English School and the Private High School were merged to become the Government High School Mokokchung and Mayangnokcha Ao was appointed as the first Headmaster of the high school.
The name of the school was officially changed to Mayangnokcha High School on June 16, 1994 in honour of the first Headmaster of the school, who is also the first graduate among the Aos and the second among the Nagas.
The school was upgraded into a Higher Secondary School in the year 2002 offering Commerce stream. In 2003, the school started offering Higher Secondary studies in Science and in 2010 started offering Arts stream.
As a solemn part of the celebration today, the school presented ‘post golden jubilee’ special mementos to four national level achievers and nine academic achievers, former and present heads of the institution, the school management board and the platinum jubilee planning committee.
The chief guest, Yitachu earlier in the morning unfurled the school’s jubilee flag and inaugurated the school’s e-library and the upgraded science lab. The school’s library was upgraded to that of an e-based library sponsored by the Kohima chapter of the school’s alumni while the upgradation of the science lab was sponsored by the Mokokchung chapter. The chief guest also released the school’s platinum jubilee souvenir magazine, the publication of which was sponsored by the Dimapur chapter of the school’s alumni.
Kiremwati, a renowned Naga educationist and former headmaster of the school delivered a short speech impromptu while the guest of honour and alumna, Dr.Kilemla and Asano Sekhose, Chairman NBSE delivered short speeches. Other highlights of the day’s event included the performance of a play titled ‘the journey’ by the school’s students, Rev.Dr.Takatemjen an alumnus leading the congregation on remembering the departed, the school’s Jubilee Choir presenting the jubilee theme song and a special number, welcome address by the principal of the school, Arenla and a vote of thanks by the convenor of the planning committee and ADC Mokokchung, Bendanglila. Invocation and thanksgiving prayer were pronounced by Rev. Ponen Longchar and Rev. Dr. Mar Atsongchanger respectively. The celebrations also included a jubilee feast and the alumni meet. Another striking feature of the jubilee was the attendance of some alumni in the school’s old uniform, a black waist-coat with the school’s logo on the crest.
Give back to society: Yitachu
Nagaland School Education & SCERT Minister, Yitachu while speaking as chief guest at the Platinum Jubilee celebration of Mayangnokcha Government Higher Secondary School, Mokokchung said that educated Nagas today should “give back to society” and help Naga society prosper.
He said that a literacy rate of 80.11% which is higher than the national literacy rate was not enough, and that Naga students should seek education to generate employment and not government employment. He also encouraged the teacher to “give education to students to generate employment.” He also ridiculed the idea of seeking government employment solely for salary and pension benefits and termed it as “miserable thinking” and challenged government employees to “give back to society.”
He cited the example of a Naga village without naming it, which according to him has 17 doctors hailing from that village but none willing to go back and serve the people in the village’s PHC. He questioned, “Are we giving back? Or, are we only looking towards employment and receiving salary?”
He further expressed disappointment with the present education system and added that the system must “make a u-turn from certificate education to quality education” through which “research, innovation and inventions” will come. Educated people will then, he said, innovate and invent inventions that will make people’s lives easier and ensure society’s progress. That, he said, was “giving back to society,” and added that “that should be our agenda now.” Saying that “degree education has no space tomorrow,” Yitachu added Nagas needed to “work now on quality education if we are to take our younger generation forward.”
He also called upon the Naga people in general to be “realistic, practical, know what we are and then think big” and understand “what is possible and what is not.” He also added that Naga people should “be focussed and clear” and questioned if they would rather “live in confusion.”
He also added that “Nagas are a small people in a small land surrounded by four big nations and religions,” and thrust his faith on God saying that “He has a purpose” that Nagas have persevered thus far “though we are falling short.”
On the pervasiveness of corruption in Naga society today, he advised that it was the responsibility of each Naga, as Christians, to counter it but wondered if Nagas were seriously against corruption. “Corruption is in everybody’s mouth, but are we giving force or is it just lip service to suit our whims?” he wondered. He said that “checking corruption has become a lucrative business” in Nagaland today which, he added, was a “very dangerous trend.”
He congratulated the school on achieving the 75 years of existence milestone and hoped that MGHSS would remain true to its motto ‘Truth Triumphs’.
