In this screenshot from a viral video, parents and students of Akhakhu village under Zunheboto are seen protesting the lack of school teachers in the village’s lone Government Primary School.
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Morung Express News
Dimapur | July 12
In an unprecedented move, a village in Zunheboto has turned to social media to get the attention of the Nagaland Government and the Department of School Education (DoSE) to deploy teachers to the village’s lone Government Primary School (GPS).
With not a single teacher in the GPS this year, the villagers of Akhakhu, which falls under Sub Divisional Education Officer (SDEO), Aghunato launched an urgent plea by filming a short video clip and sharing it on various social media platforms to voice out their grievances.
In the video, which has now gone viral, the narrator, a GB (Gaun Bura) of Akhakhu village is seen requesting the State Government and the DoSE to deploy teachers to the GPS even as the visual pans towards children and parents solemnly standing in front of the school.
The GB claimed that the GPS, which was taken over by the DoSE, was running smoothly since its establishment in 2010 till this year, with not a single teacher turning up.
“There are many students wanting to study…yet there are no teachers in the school, the parents are crying because they cannot send their children for education…” the narrator lamented.
He also announced that if the State Government fails to deploy teachers within a month time, the whole village including the children would march to the office of the Deputy Commissioner, Zunheboto district HQ to protest.
From Akhaku village, the distance to Zunheboto HQ is around 40 kilometre.
Video made as last resort: Head GB
The narrator, now been identified as the Head GB of Akhakhu and Chairman, School Management Committee, Vikheho Chopy, told The Morung Express that the video clip was made as a last resort for help.
According to him, a single teacher was posted in the GPS till 2022. Since one teacher was not capable of running the entire school with nearly 50 students, the village council had employed a teacher from the village by providing a stipend of Rs 3000.
However, before the general election last year, the teacher posted in the village got transferred allegedly along with the post itself.
Chopy further maintained the SMC and the village council were not even approached for No Objection Certificate (NoC) on the transfer. The post just vanished along with the teacher.
Despite repeated appeals to the State Government, no teacher were deployed leaving the school education hanging in the balance since then, he maintained.
He also revealed that the village had approached the SDEO, Aughanato to provide at least 2 teachers for the school and also sought the help of the Eastern Sumi Students’ Union (ESSU) to highlight their plight.
With no response forthcoming from the concerned department, he recalled how the parents, frantic to send their children to school, have pleaded with him to do something, anything.
“The villagers here cannot afford to send their children to private school in the towns and the nearest village, which is Tizu Island has only Middle School and High School,” the head GB pointed out. In 2022, Akhakhu GPS , which runs classes up to grade 2, had 46 students.
“Already 6 months is gone and the school is yet to open. As a last resort, we decided to try this mode to get attention of the concerned, he stated.
The Head GB further expressed hope that the video clip reaches the eyes and ears of the State Government and take cognisance by deploying the teachers at the earliest.
