Dimapur, August 20 (MExN): With the argument that due to “hilly terrain” sports infrastructure in the NE are in lack, particularly Nagaland, Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio has asked for more funds to build up the sector alongside more funding for the education sector. Highlighting an elaborate list of lack in both the sectors, Rio made the appeals in his addressing the 8th NEC Sectoral Summit on Education, Sports, Art & Culture held August 20-21, 2007 at Delhi.
Rio lamented: “My only concern is that these various summits have not been able to result in a corresponding increase in the flow of funds and faster implementation of many pending projects, vital for the development of the North East Region.”
He informed the summit that Nagaland is doing “pretty well” in the field of primary education with the literacy rate at 67% as per the 2001 census, which is above the national average. “We are also churning out thousands of graduates every year” but the quality of education in the State leaves much to be desired, with the result that most Naga graduates find difficulty in finding employment in the national job market, particularly in the private sector, the CM explained. On this, he reminded that the state’s education system needs re-orientation and ‘enrichment,’ in the form of making it more vocational and job-oriented. “The real challenge of the education system in the North East is how to make our graduates employable in the job market outside the government systems” he asserted.
Alongside the need for re-orienting the education system through reform of syllabus and curriculum, Rio called for special focus to be made on such areas as infrastructure development, enhancement of local institutional capacities and motivation of teachers and up-gradation of their competencies in general.
These are in special reference to the teaching of science, mathematics, and adoption of modern educational technology etc., Rio explained. He also highlighted the need to establish distance learning facilities in the NE by improving IT connectivity through provision of proper and reliable bandwidth, connecting the region with the rest of the country, and also with the world.
CM Rio also expressed hope that a good number of the proposed new quality schools, ITIs, IITs and IIMs would also be set up in Nagaland. “Let me reiterate here once again, that Nagaland is perhaps the only State in the country which is yet to have a medical college, or engineering college or any of such prestigious national level institutes like IITs and IIMs etc.,” Rio informed the summit.
To buttress his point Rio listed out the following infrastructure and basic facilities are the main reasons for this educational backwardness: College building, including hostel facilities for both boys and girls; Library, books and communication facilities; Equipment and laboratories; Playground and amusement facilities; IT and IT-application ambience and facilities; financial support to continue EDUSAT facilities, etc.
He lamented that the University Grants Commission and the Ministry of Human Resources Development have been approached on several occasions, and the State has received certain funds on these accounts. “However, the funds received are inadequate to create any kind of positive impact on the ground situation…” Rio stated asserting that the Government of India must come out to support higher education in Nagaland in a “big way” to upgrade the standard, else these colleges will continue to “manufacture” graduates and post-graduates for whom there won’t be any takers. This would certainly add to the already serious unemployment problem of the State, and lead of discontentment amongst the educated youth, which is highly undesirable in an insurgency affected-State like Nagaland, Rio explained.
Neiphiu Rio also drew attention the pattern of funding of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) which, he said, needs to be urgently modified, as the North East States are not in a position to bear the State’s share of 50%. He cautioned that unless it is made into 90:10 as demanded by all NE States earlier, the implementation of the SSA will be severely affected in the North East Region. Likewise, the number of seats for MBBS course allotted to Nagaland is only 31, which is “grossly inadequate.” Since the State does not have any medical college, or even an engineering college, special consideration should be given to States like Nagaland he said informing that “We had, in fact, asked for 50 seats for the current year.”
He also called for further expansion of Sainik School at Punglwa (Nagaland) to its full strength of 600 students, which he explained to the summit, will require more funding from the Government of India.
In the sports sector, Rio highlighted the performance of Naga athletes over the course of years in various levels of performance. He called for affiliation of the Nagaland Olympic Association. He said that the main drawback in Nagaland’s efforts to promote sports in the State is lack of sports infrastructure. “…we want to construct at least one good District Sports Centre in every district. However, constraints of fund, both from the State and the Centre, are our problems, he said. Citing an instance, Rio informed that the Indhira Gandhi Sports stadium at Kohima, whose foundation stone was laid by Rajiv Gandhi way back in 1987, could be partially inaugurated only in 2003, after a gap of 16 long years. However, many basic facilities, like synthetic track, swimming pool, cycling track, etc are yet to be provided, he said
Rio hoped that the Central Government would allocate more funds for development of sports, and to assist the States in building up the required sports infrastructure. “… generous financial support from the Government of India will be required for developing sports infrastructures in the hill States of the North East. Only then, the sporting talents of the youth of the North East Region can be properly harnessed, and developed into medal prospects at international sports events” he said.
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