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Much has been talked about poor performance of public sector educational institutions in board examinations, triggering many to pour scorn on the state government, the concerned department, school administration and employees who draw salary without performing their duties, as we see negligible change as far as the results of High School Leaving Certificate (HSLC) and Higher Secondary School Leaving Certificate (HSSLC) examinations are concerned. The pass percentage of government schools in HSLC exam conducted by the Nagaland Board of School Education (NBSE) hasn’t changed much over the past six years, unable to breach the 50% mark, while private schools constantly record over 80% pass percentage. This year too, government schools registered only 48.55% pass percentage against 49.13% last year, compared to 86.77% for private institutions. What does consistent poor performance convey? It simply tells that talks, assurances, warnings, etc. by government official haven’t been translated into action yet; that the situation of government schools continues to remain more or less the same to this day; and the concerned department has not addressed the core issues that are plaguing state-owned institutions for years. The huge gap in performance between districts, from as high as 67% pass percentage to as low as 3%, is another matter of concern, which requires urgent attention.
In the meantime, the performance of government schools in HSSLC exams is a different story all together, consistently churning out impressive results. This year, three students made it to the top 10 list, against two in 2023, and outperformed private schools in Commerce stream with a pass percentage of 91.43% (89.38% by private schools). While this is encouraging and commendable, it is also important to note the disparity in enrolment, from 184 students at Bautüng Govt. Hr. Sec. School in Longleng to 10 students at Govt. Hr. Sec. School in Naginimora. Overall, the enrolment in Arts stream during the academic year 2023-24 was 3758, 105 in Commerce and 320 in Science, which is several times lower than private institutions. What is even more concerning is the extremely low enrolment in high schools with as many as six schools with one student each and dozens of them with single digit strength, as per the data provided by the NBSE. A closer look at the situation reveals that government educational institutions in the state are riddled with shortcomings, from rampant proxy teaching to shortage of subject teachers to lack of facilities. This mess can’t be cleansed without resorting to complete overhaul, including equitable distribution of manpower, elimination of proxy teaching and enhancement of infrastructure with special attention to rural areas. It is impossible to provide quality education without addressing these issues. The ball is in the court of the government to act and set things right, with community involvement.