David Hanneng
Research Scholar Visva-Bharati university, Santiniketan
With the declaration of class X and class XII results, students and parents would be hunting for the next destinations of their children. There was a time when most of the Naga students would leave for Shillong, Guwahati, Delhi, Bangalore etc to hunt for colleges. After some time, high schools in our state were upgraded to Higher Secondary which allowed a whole lot of students to study till Class XII in the state itself. Soon, colleges also started to mushroom at a rate faster than anticipated.
The new private Higher Secondary Schools and colleges that sprung up are beneficial in that students can opt to study in Nagaland and can also choose colleges/streams of their choice from a pool of colleges whether it is for Arts, Science or Commerce. Studying in the state is also supposed to save parents’ money big-time and can keep their wards under their watchful eyes. The state’s overall economy also thrives when more students are studying in the state than elsewhere. Many have welcomed these developments with gladness hoping that it would fill a big lacuna in our educational structure. However, things turned out to be not as rosy as expected. Most of these new higher secondary schools and colleges charge exorbitant fees and the quality of education in some of them are questionable. It surprises me that there is hardly any institution worth the name that charges below ten thousand rupees for admission to higher secondary schools or colleges. In fact, most of them charge above fifteen thousand! This is besides the monthly fees and hostel fees. It might seem affordable for those with better placed jobs but what about those that live hand-to-mouth and those that have more than five children to support! Don’t their children also deserve good education? This present trend is unsustainable. If higher education becomes this costly, it would also abet corruption at various levels since every parent would obviously want to see their children in the best of schools and colleges. With the government run institutions filled to full capacity, parents have no other option but to hunt for private ones. The government must seriously think about some regulation to check this greedy leech like institutions. Moreover, the so called ‘Mission’ colleges in our states should also check their intentions first if it is really serving its ‘mission’ really well especially since they also charge exorbitant fees. For Heaven’s sake, let us not use the tag ‘Mission’ for our private business! Colleges in Nagaland now seem to be the next big cottage industry after insurgency.
When some of the best private colleges outside of the state offer high quality education even at cheaper rates, many would have genuine reasons to travel elsewhere. There are also the central and state universities like Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi University, Hyderabad Central University, Jadavpur Univeristy, the IITs etc. which give you the best education in your field at death-cheap rates. There might be those who would, for good reasons, insist that studying in our own state does have its benefits. In fact, few students who go out of the state imagine themselves to have walked out of the cage into an unknown land of freedom where parents unquestioningly supply money every month for them to enjoy often even without attending classes, having taken admission in 3rd grade colleges. At least in Nagaland, colleges take attendance more seriously, whereas in the bigger cities, you are considered mature enough to think for yourself. This has spoiled a whole lot of our students and has broken many a parents’ hearts. However, this fear-mongering thought that is put across should also not blind us to the vast opportunities that studying outside also brings about. It serves to expose us to the vast world that exist beyond our cocooned Naga world and mentality, and more than the subject lessons, this ‘mind-opening’ experience itself is a big education. Herein, we see how competitive the world is and the new thoughts and theories which we listen from the best of Professors are often worth the many risks, especially keeping in mind that most of our colleges back home still follow the rote-memory, spoon feeding system which will keep us forever decadent. I would obviously suggest that we study till Class XII in our state and Post-graduate compulsorily outside with the degree colleges left to your discretion.
The state government which spends more than 30% the state’s total budget (Plan Expenditure) on social sector i.e. Education, Health, Water Supply Etc., have not built a new Government college in recent memory. Some of the Govt. college like Dimapur Govt. College is doing pretty well and if we can set up one more college each in all the districts, it will further allow the poorer students to study in their home districts instead of travelling far away from Mon, Tuensang, Wokha etc. to Dimapur or Kohima. It will also open up doors to absorb some of the highly qualified unemployed ‘Professors in the waiting’! The government of a welfare state seems to have left higher education completely in the hands of corporate or private entities. If it can’t set up Higher secondary Schools or Colleges on its own, it should at least adopt some of the older and well performing colleges on a PPP model so that the fees might come down and the teaching staffs of the private colleges who are made to over work do not get underpaid. It’s high time Teacher’s Unions also play more active roles.
There is also a general importance given to Engineering, Medical Science and other Sciences which I guess we think are more ‘Plump’. I believe, every student should be allowed to choose the subject of his/her interest. The students on the other hand should also seek to excel in his/her field of studies (because when one becomes excellent, job will never lack behind). Infact, it is also unchristian to not take our studies seriously. As serious as we are in attending fellowships, importance should also be given to excel in our studies which would go a long way in uprooting back-door appointments and over dependence in state government jobs.
Moreover, there also seem to be a mad rush among institutions for producing Ranks/Toppers in Class X &XII as well as in degree courses. For them, more rank holders mean attracting greater number of students, which again means more money and fame! This would be harmful for the state in the long run. Parents are also at fault here because they also prioritize schools or colleges which produces more toppers. True education should focus on all round development of the students. Just because a certain school in Kohima or Dimapur produces the bulk of the rank holders in metric exam every year doesn’t necessarily mean that these students will end up being the most successful, influential or useful citizens. With the introduction of internal assessments, it can also open up room for mark manipulation to secure better results, sacrificing quality at the altar of greed. Beginning with Moral Science, the subject which seem to be discarded these days, schools should also incorporate Sports, Music etc. as intrinsic part of the syllabus. Colleges should offer more options to choose from.
One hopes for the day when our educational institutions would break-off from the bookish-minded thrust towards education and prioritize the holistic growth of the students. Schools and colleges should serve as an important feeder for giving platforms to students who excel in sports and such other talents. No wonder, hitherto, our state lacks so much in sports when it comes to competitions nationally. It would be a dream come true to see at least one institution giving professional football coaching in our state! Lastly, let Higher Education be made affordable, and let not profit-motive of private entities nor negligence of the Government rob us of a generation of bright students and thinkers who can be our stalwarts tomorrow.
