The Development Forum (Education Sector) of Noklak district, a remote and the recently created youngest district of Nagaland, has embarked on a mission to provide quality education for all the students.
Most of the villages in the district do not have network connectivity at a time when the education sector is switching over to online teaching and classes.
The forum held a meeting under the chairmanship of Noklak deputy commissioner Reny Wilfred on Tuesday and resolved to come up with an Education Vision Document 2030 for the district keeping in the evolving perspectives of the New Education Policy.
The final draft document is expected to be ready by September end and will be made available for comments from public and experts from the field of education.
Wilfred, the first DC of the district, is taking the initiative in this direction.
At the meeting, the forum discussed on the “district vision document for quality education for all” to improve the quality of education in the district.
The vision is to have cent percent pass percentage in Class 10 and 12 in the government schools and improve quality education at the village level with focus on preschool and preliminary education to set foundations.
It also discussed on improving preschool and primary education, integrating basic life skills at the school level, integrating Anganwadi, village health nutrition day, Sakhi One Stop Centre, Mahila Shakti Kendra, Nehru Yuva Kendra with the school education system to improve health, nutrition and hygiene among children and parents.
It further deliberated about tackling proxy teacher issue to improve village level education while considering the humanitarian side of the issue.
Improving maths and science education at school level with adoption of technology and new pedagogical methods was also a focus area of the discussion.
Outlines of a to be formed search, verification and implementation committee were deliberated for adopting strategies, exemplary extracurricular activities and technology-based educational possibilities for improving science and maths education.
Leadership training for teachers and students and soft skill training through utilization of programmes under Nehru Yuva Kendra (NYK) and potentials of Mobile Lab and Atal Tinkering Lab, a project undertaken by the government of India to foster innovation and creativity amongst the students of India, to spurt interest in school kids were submitted by the forum members.
The project also aims to mould younger generation with leadership skills and competency to approach real life problem in the pragmatic way.
One of the main highlights of the discussion was to come up with a quarterly format to submit a progress report to state level through the District Planning and Development Board on various education quality improvement parameters and infrastructure.
Lack of basic school infrastructures, teachers’ accommodation, Class 9 dropout rate, measures to improve village level enrolment of pre-matric and post-matric scholarship and the need for more tribal residential schools and hostels in the rural areas were another focus area of the deliberation.
Puchai P.M, a graduate teacher of Government Higher Secondary School Noklak and former president of All Nagaland School Teachers Association, Tuensang unit, in his presentation focused on improvement of students’ quality education and their overall uplift.