Rabindra Kumar Singh is a teacher who left his home in Bihar more than three decades ago to teach students in remote villages in Nagaland.

Singh was first appointed in 1993 as a science teacher in Government Middle School (GMS) Luthsumi in Aghunato block under Zunheboto district. He currently teaches at GMS Chessore village in Shamator district.

In an exclusive conversation with Nagaland Tribune, Singh shared his journey as an educator far away from his home-state. An alumnus of Bihar University Muzaffarpur and Jai Prakash University in Bihar, Singh said his journey began with a small struggle but has since blossomed into a place where students are thriving.

He recalled that when he first started out in 1993 at GMS Luthsumi, there were no graduate teachers in the village. But today, he stated with pride, that many of his former students have taken on successful careers including engineers and many engaged in different fields. To him, their achievements demonstrate the impact of their education.
He said his passion for teaching got ignited early on in life when he excelled in subjects like science, and he aspired to create a positive learning environment for students. Pursuing his love for teaching, he did his Bachelor of Education (B.Ed) from National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) Kohima.

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Sharing about the biggest challenges he faced in education in Nagaland, Singh said these would be the remote locations, limited resources coupled with dealing with different types of students, struggle to attract, retention of skilled teachers and appointing teachers based on the same locality. He opined that a teacher being posted out of his/her own district would contribute much towards improvement of the education system.

On his teaching style, Singh said he extended his teaching beyond the textbook, encouraging students to think critically, and solve problems independently. The knowledge gained from such exercises help in competitive examinations, he added.

Singh, who is in his 33rd year as a teacher in Nagaland, said this year will be the last as he would be retiring soon. He expressed his sadness to retire and his wish to improve the power of education and the transformative impact to all the students. He strongly asserted that teachers must be appointed on merit basis and not on political backgrounds.

In his personal life, Singh is a father of four children. “My first and second daughters have completed B.Tech while my third and fourth sons are preparing for NEET,” he said. His wife is a graduate and she works as a shoemaker in Bihar, he added. He visits his family in their hometown in Bihar during vacations.