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Kevileno Angami[/caption]
Our Correspondent
Kohima, Oct. 23 (EMN): The government higher secondary school of Kiphire was declared the winner of a state-level science exhibition organised by the Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) on Oct. 23 in Kohima. The event was organised with the theme “consequences of Climate Change.”
Yet, the event was not so much for models and experiments but a platform to foster interest in students in Nagaland to grow in science and mathematics.
The government high schools of Chandmari in Kohima, and Mayangnokcha in Mokokchung were declared the second and third winners; Tamlu government high school was awarded with the ‘Best Model’ prize.
The ministry of Human Resource Development launched the RMSA’s Rashtriya Avishkar Abhiyan (RAA), a convergent framework across school education and higher education sectors aiming to encourage children to learn science and mathematics and to develop their interest through activities related to stated subjects.
During the exhibition, students from eleven districts demonstrated and explained their working models, which were based on the theme depicting the effect of Climate Change such as flooding, droughts, pollution etc.
A recent survey indicated Nagaland students’ performances in math worsen in the higher classes, and most of the students had ‘math phobia.’
The state mission director of the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), Kevileno Angami, attributed the “phobia” to students not having a clear foundation of the subject; lack of curiosity; and inquisitiveness, too, among the students.
‘Our’ students can perform much better, she said but emphasised on the teachers’ role for proper guidance: create an enabling environment for students to learn and grow, and expand their minds and ideas.
Defining science as a study of facts ‘systematically and methodically,’ Angami said it is not a very difficult subject except that it requires diligence and curiosity to know the what, how and why of the things.
The official was optimistic that the science exhibition would help students inculcate the joy of learning science and math as they engage in learning new facts and inventions; expressing their interest through experiments would enable them to think out of the box.
Joint mission director of the RMSA Visiezolie Yashü said in the keynote address that the science exhibitions in the districts aim to develop in the minds of students an interest in math and science, and publicise science and technology.
Expressing happiness at the positive outcome of the science exhibitions across the districts, Yashü observed that they were enhancing Students’ talent and interest in science.
The official also said that students have significantly improved as they are slowly developing a scientific spirit and the curiosity to learn more through demonstrations.
He mentioned how over the years students from the Northeast had been innovating and creating ideas at exhibitions.
The members of the competition’s adjudicators were Elizabeth Walling, assistant professor at State College of Teacher Education in Kohima; Dr. Daniel Kibami, assistant professor, at Kohima Science College; and Chumchano Yanthan, headmistress of Baptist High, in Kohima.
