Dimapur, Dec. 16 (EMN): Highlighting the grim status of Nagaland, founder and chairperson of YouthNet governing council Hekani Jakhalu has advocated for meritocracy if the Naga youth have to progress and develop a new Nagaland, stating that only people with merit would shine.
Hekani stated this during the 14th conference of Highway Area Sumi Union (HASU) held on December 15 at Diphupar-B Sumi Baptist Church on the theme “Integrity with progress.” To substantiate her statement, she stated that Nagaland has the highest rate of rural unemployment among all the North eastern states at 15.9% of the labour force, while the urban unemployment rate at 11.6%, one of the highest in the country coupled with the highest school dropout rate in India.
She stated that the youth, which constituted 40.2% as per 2011 census, would be at the centre and be the main drivers in every aspect – social, political and economic – of the state over the next 15 years. She added that Nagaland in 2030 would be defined by how the youth today are shaped and moulded by the opportunities and platforms.
She encouraged the youth to focus on excelling in whatever area they choose to follow and shun away from petty politics and wasting time saying, it was high time to build a self-sustainable economy with a focused approach which is an achievable target, an update from YouthNet stated.
She stressed on the need of having a conducive eco-system for private enterprises to thrive and thus open up employment opportunities. She added that peace in the region was critical for future investments by private investors. Also pointing out that infrastructure, especially roads, would be the first point of opening up avenues for development, she advised HASSU to identify important roads and push on developing those areas by collectively pursuing it.
As YouthNet works on building youth to enable them have a better quality of life and future, she committed to help 100 youth under HASSU on skill development, capacity building and various training programmes. She also committed to work with HASSU on various areas of youth development like setting up sports clubs and coaching camps to identify and nurture youth in sports, which is equally important to build up their leadership skills.
On entrepreneurship she encouraged HASSU to work on a cluster approach for enterprises focusing on handicraft, handloom and agro-based business, which was the inherent strength of the region for instant growth.
President of Western Sumi Students Union (WSSU), Kughaho Achumi, also exhorted the students.
PHED minister Jacob Zhimomi was the chief guest of the conference.