Don Bosco Kohima yearlong golden jubilee celebration culminates

Our Correspondent
Kohima | November 20

The yearlong golden jubilee of Don Bosco Kohima culminated here today with a grand finale celebration at Don Bosco Kohima premises under the theme “Towards a better world with Don Bosco.”

Don Bosco Kohima (DBK) was instituted in 1971. Altogether, 3588 students have passed out HSLC from 1975 till 2020.

1141 students passed out HSSLC (Science: 1997-2020) while another 858 passed out HSSLC (Arts: 2011-2020) from this institution. Presently, Don Bosco Kohima house over 2000 students (from nursery to higher secondary including Don Bosco College).

The yearlong golden jubilee celebration was launched on January 31 this year through release of golden jubilee sky lantern, jubilee commemoration music/video album including series of activities like music, art, literary etc.

 ‘School is a temple of education’
Speaking on the occasion as the special guest, Nagaland Chief Secretary J Alam said that a school is often called a temple of education “because it has the sacred mission to provide the greatest avenues for fulfillment of the potential of each student and to inculcate right values so that they become productive citizens and contribute to the overall development of their communities, societies nations and the humanity at large.”

He said that the teaching fraternity of DBK also personifies the ideals of the highest catholic traditions of service to humanity which has been beautifully summed up by Pope Francis in his Message to International office of catholic education in 2019.

He quoted as saying “We need to place at the center of the educational action the person in her full integrity. To this end, the educator must be competent, qualified, and at the same time rich in humanity, capable of mingling with the students in order to promote their human and spiritual growth.”

Alam complimented the school management, the teachers and staff for nurturing DBK over the last 50 years and imparting quality education to thousands of young students.

“Let me assure you that your contribution, your sacrifices and your commitment to a noble cause is well recognized by the society and the state as a whole,” he said.

Stating that golden jubilee is also a time to reflect on where one need to go from here, he said “In the current context, it is also a unique opportunity to introspect particularly at a time when a new National Education Policy has come into effect which aims at a paradigm shift in the way we impart and manage education in India.”

Stating that teaching and learning is a lifelong process, Alam said, “The teaching fraternity has to play a role of a facilitator, a counselor, a friend, a parent and many more. Our children are growing up in a world filled with complexities, a world that has become increasingly challenging-socially, emotionally and technologically.”

In today’s world, he said, it is not enough to acquire some basic skills to lead life. Technology is moving fast and in the next decade, it is quite possible that many of the basic functions performed by human beings today will be taken over by machines. In this, he said that students have to have the right life skills to survive in the rapidly changing technological world.

“The onus is on the institutions, especially on the teachers, to prepare their students in a way that they are globally relevant, have the right life skills and yet are sensitive to the needs of the society they inhabit. This also implies that the teaching community should not be left behind in the ‘race of time’. Just like their learners, the teachers, too, learn new lessons every single day,” he said.

Our recent experience with Covid-19 pandemic has also shown us that we must adapt to ever evolving education technology and that only traditional teaching will not suffice, he said.

Alam urged the students to make the best use of the school life as it is the most memorable part of their life and it stays with them throughout their life.

“Curricular, co curricular and extracurricular-all activities are important. They help you to develop a well rounded personality. While discipline is important, it is equally important to develop a curious mind and the faculties of critical thinking that foster a spirit of enquiry,” he asserted.

These traits when nurtured in the right way produce, scientists, innovators, leaders and agents of change, he said.

Stating that freedom of speech and expression is one of the most important fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution of India, he said “You must cultivate, practice and demand the freedom to criticize and dissent, not only within the school but also in every sphere of your lives. Healthy debate, discussions and the habit of understanding the other’s point of view in an accommodative spirit will take you far in life.”

Congratulating the alumni, faculty members, and the students of Don Bosco Kohima for their successful completion of 50 years, he said “I have every reason to be confident that the people who administer the affairs of this institution will carry on the onerous task of delivering quality education in the days and years to come and will become a model of excellence in education for others to emulate and follow.”

Most Rev Dr James Thoppil, Bishop of Diocese Kohima, Fr Dr Jose Kuruvachira, SDB, Provincial of Salesian Province of Dimapur, Fr CP Mathew, SDB and Helievi-o Solo, chairman Kohima Village council also delivered short speech at the grand finale session. Dr Kezha (1980 batch) shared reminiscence. Earlier, welcome address was delivered by Fr Suresh Innocent SDB while vote of thanks was proposed by Fr TP James, SDB, principal Don Bosco Kohima.

Later, Abu Metha, Advisor to Chief Minister Nagaland graced Bosconian Nite as the guest of honour.

‘Molding young individuals to live up to their full potential’

Sharing greetings, golden jubilee organizing committee chairman KD Vizo said that the students, alumni, teachers and well wishers came together to celebrate the life and teaching of Don Bosco and the contribution of Don Bosco Kohima for bringing all round development for the benefit of both the young and old alike.

“Don Bosco is one of the oldest institutes in our land and it has touched many lives over the last 50 years and I am sure we all will value and carry this legacy forward,” Vizo said.

He said that an institutions like Don Bosco Kohima play a critical role in guiding and molding young individuals to live up to their full potential.

During the foundational of life, he said  it is important to build good qualities and skills like hard work, knowledge, patience, empathy, self-reliance, self-confidence, communication skill and above all we must all remember that good morals has not  changed no matter whatever is the era.

In fact, developing self-discipline and instilling the habit of hard work is imperative to one's success as it is way too easy to get distracted and lost in the rapid waves of changing lifestyle and refining one’s ability to differentiate signal from noise is a must, he said.

There may be a plethora of tools, resources, and opportunities, but only those who are prepared and consciously seeking to leverage them will truly reap the benefit, he said.

During this Golden Jubilee year, instead of merely following the current trends, let us try to develop a mindset to approach new things by boiling it down to the fundamental truths and start reasoning to see if something really makes sense from the wonderful life and teachings of Don Bosco, Vizo said.

In the last 50 years, he said that Don Bosco Kohima has imparted holistic education and instilled qualities and life skills to develop many individuals who have accomplished great things in their respective fields.