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As has been the trend for years now in Nagaland, girls have once again outperformed boys in the recent High School Leaving Certificate (HSLC) and Higher Secondary School Leaving Certificate (HSSLC) examinations; and private educational institutions are way ahead of government schools in terms of performance in the exams. These are on expected lines. What really caught everyone’s attention is the noticeable improvement of government schools this year with 49.13% pass percentage in the matriculation exam, the highest recorded since 2018 and nearly 9% spike from last year’s 36.62%. This is an encouraging development, perhaps an outcome of collective efforts from the concerned department, school administrations and civil society organisations to revitalise it. In the meantime, the huge disparity in the performance of government schools between the urban and interior areas is a matter of concern. While government schools in districts like Kohima and Mokokchung recorded above 70% success rate in the HSLC exam, as many as six districts registered a pass percentage of below 35%. But that’s not the case among private institutions across the state with all districts registering above 70% pass percentage. Noklak leads the pack at 97% against 22% success rate of government schools, while private institutions in Shamator recorded 70% success, compared to its counterpart’s 6%, which is the lowest among the districts. Why this huge disproportion? Is it due to poor infrastructure, shortage of teachers, proxy teaching practice or a genuine case of low enrollment in government schools? The concerned authorities need to urgently find out the reasons and take stringent corrective measures.
Meanwhile, in higher secondary level, it’s a different story all together with government institutions from across the state putting up an impressive performance in all streams – Arts, Science and Commerce. In fact, government schools in Kohima and Mokokchung outshone private schools in the recent HSSLC exams, while other districts are not far behind. It indicates that government schools in the state have evolved over the years and it is vital towards providing quality education to students, especially from economically weak families. This development will not only encourage students to study in the state but also attract those from other states. The concerned department and school administrations should ensure that the current momentum is maintained and eventually transform the state into an education hub. Besides that, the state government should establish more higher secondary schools in some districts and also take concrete measures to improve the performance of existing government high schools. The ultimate objective should be to make quality education accessible to all children across the state. No child should be left behind.