Aboi Polytechnic faces a multitude of urgent challenges, as highlighted during the ENCSU’s inspection. Critical deficiencies include 14 vacant teaching posts, insufficient electricity, a lack of lab equipment, and the need for an extended boys' hostel. (File Photo)
Resolve to secure equal college facilities through lawful advocacy and peaceful agitation
Tuensang, March 13 (MExN): The Eastern Nagaland College Students’ Union (ENCSU) has expressed concern over a “systemic neglect” of higher education institutions in the Mon and Longleng districts, cautioning of “peaceful agitation” if the state government fails to address critical infrastructural and faculty deficiencies immediately.
Concluding the first phase of its comprehensive college inspection and educational tour, the Union issued a press release on Friday, detailing a series of deficiencies ranging from a chronic shortage of teaching staff and the absence of functional science laboratories to a lack of basic security fencing and, in one extreme case, a college operating without a campus nearly two decades after its inauguration.
The ‘meticulously planned expedition,’ which commenced as semester examinations drew near, covered Mon and Longleng districts. The Union expressed regret that abrupt examination schedules prevented inspections in other districts during this phase but assured stakeholders that a second phase would be launched shortly to cover the remaining areas.
During the delegation’s stay in Mon town, the team inspected four institutions: Mon Wale College, Wangkhao Government College, Aboi Polytechnic and Wakching New Model College.
Among the most alarming findings was the state of Wangkhao Government College, one of the oldest colleges in Nagaland. The ENCSU reported a stark deprivation of adequate faculty, forcing existing lecturers to shoulder an unsustainable workload to the detriment of academic quality.
The college also suffers from a severe shortage of classrooms, with many lectures held in overcrowded halls exceeding safe capacity. Basic amenities are equally lacking: functional washrooms are scarce, reliable water connections are intermittent, and hostel facilities fall far short of the demand, leaving numerous students without proper residence. These shortcomings exist despite the institution’s long‑standing reputation and its growing enrolment, which now far exceeds its intended capacity.
Wakching New Model College presented a separate set of urgent needs, most notably the absence of a functional Chemistry laboratory, which has forced students to abandon practical work. The campus remains insecure due to a lack of perimeter fencing. The Union has demanded the introduction of SEC and MTC courses, alongside the immediate appointment of additional teaching staff, including three Mathematics lecturers, one Botany lecturer, two English lecturers, three Physics lecturers, and three Chemistry lecturers, to cover syllabi in time.
Aboi Polytechnic similarly faces a series of pressing challenges, including a lack of a proper auditorium, land encroachment around the campus limiting future expansion, and inadequate electricity supply hampering practical work. The Union noted that fourteen teaching positions remain vacant and that a severe shortage of lab and workshop equipment compromises the quality of technical education. The boy’s hostel needs to be extended.
Perhaps the most “alarming situation” emerged at Longleng at Yingli Government College. Despite being inaugurated under government auspices in 2006, the college continues to operate without a dedicated campus or permanent building and is presently housed within a tribal boys’ hostel.
The ENCSU condemned this makeshift arrangement as an “unacceptable affront” to the students of Eastern Nagaland, questioning why such neglect appears disproportionately prevalent in the eastern region while institutions in other districts appear comparatively well resourced.
“The state government is urged, by hook or by crook, to furnish these institutions with facilities commensurate with those enjoyed by colleges in other districts of the state,” read a statement jointly issued by ENCSU General Secretary K Pongjikhiung and Vice President H Tenpong Angh. “Failing which the Union shall be compelled to agitate pursuant to the extant laws of the land, and any untoward incidents arising during such agitation shall be held solely accountable by the government.”
The inspections were accompanied throughout by representatives of the Konyak Students’ Union and the Phom Students’ Conference, whose participation and hospitality were deeply appreciated by the ENCSU delegation.
The Union reiterated commitment to pursuing all necessary actions, ranging from peaceful agitation to lawful advocacy and has restated its demand for immediate remedial measures to ensure that colleges in Eastern Nagaland receive equitable treatment, adequate infrastructure, and quality faculty they rightfully deserved.
