The Right Education

Along Longkumer
Consulting Editor

The visit of the President of India Pranab Mukherjee to Lumami, Nagaland University (NU) to attend the 3rd Convocation programme has send out the right message with the President putting emphasis on achieving quality in Higher Education. Perhaps people of Nagaland can finally be proud of the fact that the President, who is also Visitor of NU, has lauded the current effort being put into teaching and research there. All of us are well aware of how NU has had to struggle its way towards finally finding its niche as a university of excellence. However, much more still needs to be done if NU is to fulfill the vision it had started with. Quality in Higher Education can be achieved if we are able to fine tune our existing educational institutions, including NU, into globally competitive education hubs. For this to happen, the right kind of leadership and guidance besides collective effort will be required of all concerned. Nagaland is well known for its English speaking, above average literacy amongst its people. However we seem to be satisfied with just having this tag as being ‘better educated’ and in the process we have become complacent and somehow lost on the opportunity to strive towards greater excellence in the field of education. Perhaps, one of the comparative advantages of the Nagas could be education and this can be the launch pad towards developing better, the human resource potential of the State and region. 

And one of the ways in which we can go about doing things is to look at education beyond the four corners of the classroom. It should not be only about theories but find its application to things around us. Take for instance, the wealth of our land and its resources. There is great potential for agriculture, horticulture and animal husbandry. On the other hand, we have oil and other mineral wealth, which is yet to be fully exploited. Education through scientific research should provide us with the knowhow so that our farmers, entrepreneurs, engineers, technocrats etc can benefit. Education must also instill a greater sense of inquiry and critical examination of our problems. The knowledge that you have needs to be applied to tackle the burning issues of our times. As rightly mentioned by the President of India during his address to students at Lumami, education is a powerful tool for social thinking and transformation. In this regard, he gave an example of the recent increase in cases of assault on women and children in India and the need to restore values, which “our universities and academic institutions must take the lead to meet the moral challenges”. Perhaps for those of us in Nagaland we need to also introspect on what needs to be done to find solutions to some of the unique problems we face today. 

Our students and teachers in particular must be at the forefront of this ‘social thinking and transformation’ that is needed in Naga society if we want a better future. And it is for this reason that our education system should not be seen as an end in itself but a means towards attaining social reform, economic progress and human development. Also as mentioned by the Governor of Nagaland, Dr Ashwani Kumar who is the Chief Rector of NU, there is a vital and urgent need to carry out research in some relevant areas, which he has rightly identified as sustainable development, good governance, empowerment of women, conservation of natural environment and lastly preservation of tribal culture. Some of the concerns we are facing today, not just in Nagaland alone but beyond, includes corruption, unemployment, climate change, depletion of nature, violence against women, poverty, disease, intolerance etc. Education must therefore be relevant to our present and future needs.

(Feedback can be send to consultingeditormex@gmail.com)



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