Education Day: School absenteeism in Nagaland is a major challenge

Kohima: As the nation gathered to celebrate National Education Day on Thursday to commemorate the anniversary of the birth of Independent India’s Education Prime Minister Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, educators in Nagaland have took the opportunity to review the state education system.

“Let’s take a step back for a moment and look at the state’s educational scenario. With the exception of a few, many educational institutions are unable to provide a well-balanced education, ”said Professor Buno Liegise from the Department of Education of Nagaland University told a gathering of educators and students at a commemoration ceremony.

The ceremony was organized by Nagaland Education Association (NEA) at the Kohima School Education Directorate.

The professor said that Nagaland’s education system relies heavily on academic subjects, putting aside the development of values, healthy emotions, attitudes and social skills.

“The potentials of creative thinking are not sufficiently exploited in the current education system,” she said.

Professor Liegise said that education in Nagaland suffers from “Marcism” (results-oriented system) and there is a need to recognize the multiple dimensions of the human personality and to work for the development of an integrated harmonious personality.

According to NEA President Dr Zavise Rume, Nagaland needs a strong and clear public policy on education. In this regard, he said that the NEA has launched policy research on the education system in Nagaland.

“The state government is doing so well in the education sector. However, despite this success, there are many shortcomings and challenges. Today, many teachers do not want to teach in schools. Many students don’t want to come to school, ”he said, fearing that truancy will become a major challenge in Nagaland today.

He also pointed out that local teachers have started an illegal practice of hiring teachers by proxy, with the full knowledge of village and city education committees, degrading the status of the teaching profession.

While the state government is also wasting huge resources, he said students have started to desert public schools as well.

“Unless the illegal threat is eliminated, our education system will be ruined. If we are truly sincere, we can easily end this illegal practice. We need strong state law to deal with this threat, ”he said.

Quality education: a guarantee

To mark the occasion, educators, students, agents working in the education sector, made a joint commitment to promote quality education in the state. In unison, the gathering pledged to “uphold the dignity and sanctity of education as the mother of all professions”.

Rume, as he addressed the assembly, said: “We need quality education”. According to him, one cannot expect quality education without educators being involved in the political decision-making process. He said educators should be given a fair chance to provide professional opinions on issues related to education.

Razousie, additional director of school education, insisted on the need to review the school curriculum, saying the system should be designed in a way that is best suited to society.

As he said that the teachings of human values ​​should be instilled in students who grow up to lead society, the official also stressed the need to shape children during the pre-elementary period.

The need to develop professionalism

“The state of Nagaland needs to develop professionalism in education,” said Professor Liegise.

She advised educators to be competent and master their subjects and at the same time know how to communicate knowledge and be able to articulate it.

As the educator said that one of the major weaknesses of the educational workforce is the lack of dedication to work, she challenged them to engage and continue with the task given to them.

As the nation observes Education Day, she urged all to re-commit to bringing about positive change by building a vibrant and strong education system in the state.

Meanwhile, Rume said the state’s education system must find its basis and foundation in indigenous and traditional Naga learning methods. To also support communitization as an education system in Nagaland, he suggested that a State Institute for Communitization Education be established.

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