Temjen Toy urges students to not feel inferior

Our Correspondent
Kohima, Feb 22(EMN): Nagaland’s Chief Secretary Tali Temjen Toy wants students to not have fear in their endeavours as they are at par with anyone else in the world. The only thing for them is to break the barrier of ‘feeling inferior to others,’ he said at an event.

The government servant was addressing students during the Ashoka Changemaker Day, to celebrate students’ social innovations, on Saturday at G Rio School.

Unlike during the old days, he said, the present generation is so much better off in terms of education and exposure. The only observation he has about students in Nagaland is that “sometimes we feel very small and inferior to others, but remove that and you are the best.”

In today’s world, he said, changes are happening fast. ‘What you are exposed to today was something which could not be even imagined back then. You are at par with anyone else in the world and you are not behind anyone,’ he said. He urged the students to think and dream big to make Nagaland a better place to live in.

Chief executive officer of the Entrepreneurs Associates (EA) Neichute Doulou also spoke urging the students to believe in themselves and be able to adapt to change. If they read the Bible, “You will see full of people adapting to change,” he said citing biblical examples.

‘You can be change-makers in every single small way,’ he asserted and urged the students to work harder than they are expected to. He opined that people get many negative news and thoughts from social media.

“Many of them tend to keep on criticizing the government, but I tell you there are many good things happening in Nagaland,” he said. He urged the students to appreciate people. ‘You have many dynamic and approachable bureaucrats and you have many good people serving the government as well,’ he commented. He said also that Nagaland is ‘better than many other places that he has come across.’

Asano Sekhose, chairman of the Nagaland Board of School Education (NBSE), informed that the programme was organised to give an opportunity to students to experience and learn about how they can bring change to the community by looking beyond the horizon.

“Change is the law of life and those who look only through the past or present are certain to miss the future,” she said.

She urged the teachers to encourage students to go beyond learning facts. She urged them to train minds with innovative ideas and bring about sustainable changes in the society.

In the ‘idea pitch competition,’ Mesele Doulo of Little Flower School won by proposing “Express queues in hospitals and mobile vans or mobile clinics to provide door to door medical treatment to persons with severe disabilities.” 

The second position was bagged by Roshni of Stella Higher Secondary School who shared the idea of “Traffic – no parking signboard” while the third place was won by Jentina Yaomei Shangkhu of Little Flower Higher Secondary School who pitched for solutions on cramped “urbanization.”

The winners were given INR 10,000, INR 7,000 and INR 5,000 respectively and an invitation to the Nation Launchpad Programme. Consolation prizes were also given to all the other participants. 

The programme was organised for the first time in the Northeast and in Nagaland, jointly organised by the NBSE and the EA to celebrate students-led ideas and initiatives.