First state-level govt. schools choir competition held in Kohima

KOHIMA — Commissioner and Secretary of School Education and SCERT, Kevileno Angami, said that music is now one of the subjects for the Nagaland board examination and is therefore not just a hobby anymore.

The commissioner and secretary was addressing the first state-level school choir competition for government schools organised by Samagra Shiksha Nagaland at RCEMPA, Jotsoma, on Friday.

 “Music is now one of the subjects which is being assessed in the board examination and is therefore not just a hobby anymore. It is a subject which will be assessed and would be a career for many,” Kevileno said.

In 2018-19, music as a subject was introduced in 46 government higher secondary schools on a pilot basis in Nagaland. From the total 46 schools, 25 submitted the video recordings of a folk song/ fusion and the national anthem for entry to the competition and 10 schools were shortlisted for the event on Friday.

She expressed hope that they will have more schools and participants in the future.

There are so many kinds of music including traditional, modern, etc. But for the Nagas, music has always been a part of their culture, she added.

Speaking about the choir-specific competition, she said that music brings harmony, especially when it comes to choir. The choir performance reflects cohesion in the group. It reflects teamwork and time management. It also builds confidence, she said.

She further exhorted that the performance should not just be one-time but it should be consistent and encouraged the students to continue to maintain discipline.

State Mission Director, Samagra Shiksha Nagaland, Temsunaro Aier underscored that with the new NEP 2020, there is a total shift in understanding of issues. The school choirs were constituted to encourage schools to integrate music into their activities as music programme comes under a state-specific innovation project under Samagra Shiksha.

She disclosed that the state level choir competition event took place after so many years of planning.

Speaking of music’s advantages in a child, she said that music can provide total brain activity, help students enhance their memory capacity, and help them concentrate and work better.

The mission director further informed that the selection of songs for the competiton- national anthem and folk song/fusion was to encourage students to uphold their culture and traditions and to embrace the feeling of patriotism.

The ten schools which participated in the completion were Government Higher Secondary School (GHSS) Senayanba, Mokokchung, GHSS Dimapur, Dr Neilhouzhü Kire GHSS Kohima, Rüzhükhrie GHSS Kohima, GHSS Diphupar, GHSS Chozuba, GHSS Thangjam Tuensang, GHSS Bhandari, GHSS Chümoukedima, and NI Jamir GHSS Mokokchung.

Under the folk song/ fusion category, the first place went to GHSS Chümoukedima while Dr Neilhouzhü Kire GHSS Kohima and GHSS Chozuba were placed second and third, respectively.

For the National Anthem, Rüzhükhrie GHSS Kohima won first place, Dr Neilhouzhü Kire GHSS, Kohima won second position and GHSS Chozuba secured third place.