Ura Mail, Wednesday, June 22, 1988
Last week in one of our editorials, we had given a poser on the dismally low standard of education in our Government schools despite the fact that the Government teachers are better qualified, draw better salaries and are provided with many perks which their counterparts in private schools do not receive such as free furnished quarters, leave travel concessions, medical facilities etc. As if in answer to our question, T. Kikon, MLA, has sent a number of documents showing political interference into the day to day functionings of the Education Department.
While there are many other reasons behind the Government teachers apathy towards their profession, the main reasons behind it are the teachers’ feelings of grave injustices arising from nepotism, favouritism and political interferences. It is bad enough having as a Director a person who has entered the service through the back door. But the malaise in the department began long before the incumbent came anywhere near occupying the current posting. Since the beginning of 1983, transfers of teachers on political grounds became epidemic. Primary teachers were sent out to places outside their linguistic areas. For instance, a Rongmei teacher was transferred to Tuensang where he could not communicate with the students. The HeadMaster and DI of Schools at Tuensang, having no alternative suggestions, told him to submit his joining report and, go ba’k to Dimapur and to come to Tuensang at the end of every month to draw his salary. This he did for several years. But in the final analysis, it was the students who came out losers. There are more than ten thousand other similar cases during the last five or six years, and the practice is still continued. One would have thought that the department would have by now learnt to be more careful after the exposure of a village gaonbura being served with transfer orders by the Education Department.
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Even more damaging to the morale of the teachers than whimsical transfers is the shameless favouritisms shown to relatives or suppporters of Ministers. Instances of good, hard working and qualified teachers being superseded by fresh recruits has become more the rule than the exception. Discipline in the educational institutions can no longer be enforced mainly because there is no longer any discipline among the staff.
After five years of systematic political victimisations, the fruit of the Congress (1) labour in education is a record setting 5 (five) per cent pass. The overall Nagaland figure at the last HSLC Examination result stands at 19.46% which includes the candidates from the private schools. The Government schools’ result is said to be just over 5%. The Minister of Education and his Director must be congratulating themselves.
Nagaland Tribune is publishing a curated list of articles and editorials of Chalie Kevichüsa. A tribute to the writer that he was, we hope that readers will get a glimpse of his works, reflect on its depth and hopefully keep his legacy alive
Read more: Remembering Naga Journalist Chalie Kevichüsa
