[dropcap]P[/dropcap]hek district headquarter town was established in 1972 and has completed 43 years of its existence. For many years, it had to content with just one Govt. High School in Phek town. This high school was upgraded to Govt. Higher Secondary School about a decade back. For some years, Phek Govt. College (PGC) shared the load of admission in Class 11 & 12. But P.U finally got detached from PGC from academic year 2014. Now, GHSS Phek is the only higher secondary school in Phek town, the district headquarter of Phek. GHSS Phek serves as the feeder school for six village Govt. High Schools in the vicinity of Phek town and six Private High Schools in the town and one private high school in Phek village. Educationally, Phek area and Tizu area are the most backward areas of Phek district. Main reason was lack of good schools.It pains me to see parents and students running helter-skelter for admission in the lone higher secondary school in the town. This year about 400 students, including private candidates, had cleared HSLC examination from Phek Centre. There’s already admission rush in the GHSS Phek. From what is learnt, 400 admission forms have been issued for intake capacity of 150 students only. Many students could not even get admission form. It is learnt that admission will be given on merit basis. If that happens, it will very unfortunate for village students.
Admission by draw of lot will do more justice and eliminate all push and pull. Admissions may be available in other towns of the district or outside the district, but who will pay for them?
Incidentally, parents of merit students are educated, more responsible and economically more sound. Those children performed better because they had responsible parents to monitor their studies. Their parents could afford to give them what they needed in their studies.
Conversely, the poor students are poor, not only in marks but also economically. Their parents are mostly illiterate. They had no one to monitor them in their studies. They did not even have the basic minimum daily requirements. They were compelled to study in village high schools because their parents could not afford to send them to town. Obviously, these are the students who will be denied admission if the admission criterion is merit. They are the ones who will have to go out of the district for higher studies. Some of these students will drop-out because their parents can’t afford their education outside the district. Some of them will become anti-socials from idleness and frustration.
For the students of Phek headquarter town, there’s no other option than to struggle for admission in the only higher secondary school.
The performance of the feeder school doesn’t matter. Whether classes are run regularly or not doesn’t matter. Economic consideration comes first. GHSS Phek has become a dumping ground for our students. Many of these students will pass higher secondary school examination after two years. But many of them will not have the requisite marks for honors papers in degree. Many of them will not qualify for professional courses. Most of these so-called successful students will join the mainstream of unemployable. Many will fail as the result year after years stand testimony. That is the tragedy of quantitative education.
Isn’t it a shame that Phek district H.Q town after 43 years of its establishment has only one higher secondary school? This is a collective failure and a collective shame of the district’s educated class. The elected members (past and present), Govt. officers, public leaders, students unions, civil societies, the church and all those organizations that matter of the district should all hang our heads in shame in the eyes of our other Naga tribes and districts. We can’t afford to care less just because one isn’t domicile in Phek town. It is a collective responsibility.
The cold attitude given to education by the district’s educated class is very sordid. No wonder that Phek district has not produced a single IAS till today. Are we to take pride and advantage in backward tag for job reservation forever? Let’s not forget that so long as we neglect our poor village students, our society will continue to remain backward on all fronts. So long as we see education through the narrow political prism, the district will not progress. The cause of our helpless students should be above narrow mindset. The district’s educated class should have open mind to encourage all those private high schools to upgrade to higher secondary level.
The perennial admission problem can never be solved by any temporary measure. All students may be accommodated under public pressure as was done in 2014. But the issue of shortage of teachers remained. There’s no guarantee that it may not stretch-on for the whole academic year of 2015. We all know how the government system works in Nagaland. Public pressures are always inconsistent. Once the peak time is over, everything will be back to square one.
No amount of expansion in one higher secondary school alone will mitigate the problem. What the students and parents need is some private higher secondary schools in Phek town. And not just namesake higher secondary school but higher secondary school that can give the quality requirement of our students.
