Dimapur, Oct. 27 (EMN): The Naga Students’ Federation (NSF) on Wednesday expressed concern over the rising number of students who consume tobacco products and alcohol and sought immediate intervention from the public.
The student body informed through a press release that its team discovered this worrying trend during its recent “education tour” of Dimapur, Wokha and Kohima districts as well as Tseminyu sub-division.
It appealed to all the educational institutions to ensure that no students resort to such bad habits within its premises and also asked the federating units as well as the village-level student unions to make sure that tobacco products aren’t sold within 200 metre radius of schools and colleges. It also said that stringent action should be initiated against any individual found breaching the restriction.
The NSF conducted its first phase of education tour on October 12, wherein, its team visited several government-run educational institutions in the districts of Dimapur and Wokha as well as Tseminyu sub-division, before initiating the second phase in Kohima district on October 26.
It was informed that the team ‘took stock of the situation at ground zero pertaining to the implementation of various flagship programmes, students’ enrolment, availability of teachers, and infrastructure of educational institutions’ besides interacting with students and teachers in order to understand their grievances which have been aggravated by the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The federation will be touring all the districts within its jurisdiction and shall present a comprehensive report to the state government along with its suggestions once the entire exercise is completed within this calendar year,” said the NSF.
It also appealed to all its federating units and sub-ordinate bodies to extend co-operation with all the educational institutions and ensure that education continues smoothly, particularly in the rural areas.