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Yitachu signing and releasing the MGHSS platinum jubilee souvenir in Mokokchung on Friday.[/caption]
Mokokchung, sept 16 : Checking corruption has become the ‘most lucrative business’ in Nagaland ‘as well as the country,’ a local politician has lamented.
Yitachu, minister of Education & SCERT, has said that there was in emergence a “dangerous trend” in Nagaland that was unfolding ‘under the pretext of checking corruption.’
The minister was speaking at the platinum jubilee celebrations of the Mayangnokcha Government Higher Secondary School (MGHSS) in Mokokchung.
The Education minister asserted that a ‘dangerous trend had cropped up in the state where some segment of our people has started abusing various tools to suit their whims and desires under the pretext of checking corruption.’
Such ‘transgression’ was happening in the Naga society ‘because real truth was absent within oneself,’ the minister explained. He added that it was ‘not too late to rectify the menace’ and in order to do so, he asked teachers ‘to take the responsibility to educate the young students to pave the way to live a life in truth and humility.’
The chief guest also said that education was not a thing to be held back or be kept hidden but to be offered back to the society and serve humanity. The approach of the Naga people toward education has taken a different path, he said, ‘as we have started to acquire educational degrees only to seek employment.’
“Our state literacy rate is higher than the national literacy rate but are we contributing back to our society or just seeking for government job for salary?” the minister wondered.
The guest of honour for the event, Dr. Kilemla, member of the Union Public Service Commission, also spoke during the event. She said that the school had served as a ‘lighthouse’ not only for Mokokchung district, but for the people of adjoining districts as well. She paid tributes to Mayangnokcha, the founding headmaster of the school, whom she called not only an able teacher and administrator but a fatherly figure to teachers to whom he was an inspiration.
Also, Dr. Kilemla referred to ‘various positive values of Naga culture like truth and humility.’ Sadly, she said, they are fading out. She encouraged the gathering to advocate them.
As an alumna of the school, Dr. Kilemla encouraged the teachers and the students to ‘restore and uplift’ its name ‘to greater heights.’ She challenged the institution to ‘provide qualitative education to the students and produce job-generators, not job seekers.’
Asano Sekhose, chairman of the Nagaland Board of School Education, also delivered a speech. She called upon the teachers to render service ‘with more dedication and strive to be a model of inspiration for the students as they are always closely evaluated and emulated by their students.’ She encouraged the students to be ‘open to grasp knowledge from outside' the aspects of classrooms and books. ‘Simple education has become irrelevant in today’s context,’ she said.
The highlights of the event were an impromptu speech from Dr. Kiremwati, an alumnus and former headmaster of the school, and Reverend. A Shohe, aged 96, the oldest surviving alumnus of the school, were present at the celebrations too.
Also, four national-level achievers in the teaching profession from the school and 11 students from the field of academics were felicitated during the event.
