DIMAPUR — Even as more than a thousand students in Mon district face uncertainty over the reopening of schools following the July 19 landslides, authorities have approved the temporary use of Mon Nursing Hostel building to accommodate Government Middle School (GMS), Mon Town 'D', whose school building was extensively damaged.

The arrangement comes close in the heels of a request by the Deputy Commissioner of Mon, who is also the chairman of District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), to ensure that classes can resume during the current academic session.

According to official documents, the deputy commissioner wrote to the District Education Officer (DEO), Mon, seeking temporary use of the nursing hostel after the Health & Family Welfare department granted approval. The GMS Mon Town 'D' building was found to have suffered extensive damage beyond repair and has been declared unsafe for use.

The approval is subject to several conditions, including proper maintenance of the premises by the School Management Committee and the Education department, identification of an alternative site for the school before the next academic session, and completion of a new school building. Any extension of the hostel's use beyond the current academic session will require fresh approval from the department concerned.

The temporary arrangement comes amid widespread concern over the reopening of schools in Mon district after landslides and flash floods damaged several educational institutions.

Nagaland government has already extended the summer vacation by one week for schools affected by the July 19 disaster, giving students and teachers additional time as authorities assess damage to school infrastructure.

Meanwhile, the Konyak Students' Union (KSU) has reiterated its appeal to the government to adopt a humanitarian approach for students who lost academic documents in the disaster.

The union earlier urged the Education department to simplify the process for issuing duplicate certificates instead of requiring police FIRs and newspaper notices, arguing that many affected families cannot afford the additional expenses.

Tizit Area Students' Union president Nokmao Konyak said schools affected by the floods had largely been cleared for reopening as there was no major structural damage to buildings. However, he said more than 600 students had lost textbooks, uniforms and other study materials, while newly supplied books and uniforms stored in schools were also destroyed.