Dr C H Manwang Konyak
A government teacher by the name John takes his personal bike to ferry goods for the children of his primary school through the muddy and dangerous path which was once a road. He then works hard taking care of the children by sacrificing many material things since he started his job as a government teacher at Shinyu Village of Mon District. Olem, a teacher of a private school at Mon Town took upon herself to raise money to buy mobile phones for those students who could not afford one during the lockdown when the Education Department decided to go online with classes and examinations. Such teachers have provided voluntary and sacrificial contributions trying to improve the students and the system itself. The VEC Chairman and the Head Teacher of the GMS in Loakho Village of Mon expanded their school compound with the amount saved from various sources and not with any additional fund from the government, thereby creating space for children’s recreation. The involvement of the community has been encouraging for all. Another teacher stands at the gate of his Primary School every morning with buckets of water and a cup in order to wash the hands, feet and faces of his students before letting them inside his classroom thereby encouraging hygiene and healthy living. Yet, another teacher buys pencils, rubbers, notebooks etc to distribute to her students since the students could not afford them. Similarly, a number of teachers have been making selfless sacrifices in order to bring about change and transformation in small ways, yet which would have a huge impact on students’ life in particular and on the school system in general, in the long run.
In the recent times, the Tobu Area Students’ Union (TASU) have taken an initiative called ‘Teach for Tobu’, and with consultation with teachers, VECs, VCs and other students’ bodies, they are bringing about major changes in the area. The TASU has taken up complete responsibility of four schools, namely, GPS Monyakshu, GMS Pessao, Yongkhao and Tamkoang. They have regularly inspected the schools in the area and also distributed slates, pencils, notebooks, water bottles, tiffins, etc. They have also donated desks and benches to schools to help create conducive environment. A remarkable achievement is the establishment of ‘Hope Academy’ at Obay Hoangup which is a boon for the children in the villages bordering the International boundary and also the recent inauguration of the ‘Faith Academy’ at Yeangmai Village. Similarly, the Konyak students’ community at various levels has taken initiatives to try and bring about positive changes. The Konyak Students’ Union (KSU) fittingly declared 2019 as the KSU Year of Education and has been working tirelessly to boost positive changes in the education sector of Mon District with the introduction of Free Coaching, Inspection of schools in the district, checking teachers and proxy teachers and so on. In fact, the KSU was the first NGO in the Konyak society representing the mass and have brought about major changes in different sectors of the Konyak community.
From the perspective of the community, the Konyaks are facing varied obstacles and challenges in this modern set-up of education system. Inspite of the contributions of individuals and different groups, there is still a lot that can and should be done in order to enable the Konyak students to sync with the outside world. One of the first reasons is that in the village, it is still the first generation that is in schools/ institutions. Therefore, the parents are ignorant and helpless in this modern set-up but are expected to be the guides for the students as well as the schools. Secondly, like many studies and analysis, the schools face the problems of shortage of teachers, infrastructure, funds, salary issues and so on. Thirdly, the modern mechanism of communitisation of schools has often worked against the interest of the schools because of ignorance, irresponsibility and corruption in the system itself. As such, for the education scenario to change and improve, the requirement is felt not only in the government and the system but on the part of the community as well. An overhaul of the existing system and modification according to local needs may probably be needed to establish quality institutions, especially quality government schools in the villages.
Nagaland’s Communitisation Act of 2002 worked out a system for transfer of funds to local bodies also ensuring that local bodies also contributed, thereby making the community the real stakeholders responsible for its own development. In the education sector, the Department of Education in 2002 framed the Nagaland Communitisation of Elementary Education Institution and Service Rules. In this regard, it has been observed that it has been more of a success story than not in Nagaland as a whole. However, in Mon District, it has often been asked as to how effective the move of the government has been. Mon is known as the Land of Ahngs. The district is also known for its history of headhunting, warriors, tattoos and gunsmithing. More importantly, it is one of the most isolated tribes in the state (geographically, thus in governance). The Konyak tribe is thus often known for its culture, tradition and its ‘PAST’. There existed institutions for boys and girls called the ‘Baan’ and the ‘Ywo’ which acted as educational institutions in the past. But these traditional institutions were of no relevance for the ‘modern society’ and as such has diminished in influence to a large extent in the present society. With the coming of modernization, the Konyaks inhabiting Mon District experienced a ‘culture shock’ that completely transformed the society in every aspect. The sudden introduction of money economy and the transition from the ‘Dao’ to the computer had a great impact on the Konyaks. The question remains as to who will bridge the gaps and how.
