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KOHIMA — The Nagaland department of School Education is planning to close approximately 450 schools over the next three to four years, with hundreds of schools slated for closure this year alone. This move, according to Advisor for School Education and SCERT, Dr. Kekhrielhoulie Yhome, is part of a larger effort to make schools more productive and efficient, doing away with what he termed as “appeasement policies.”
Addressing the 15th General Conference of the Nagaland School Education Administrative Officers Association (Nagaland Elementary and Secondary Cadres) in Kohima on Friday, Yhome highlighted the department’s efforts to streamline operations and address long-standing issues.
He pointed out that the department has reduced the number of court cases related to service matters from 178 to 108, most of it “related to squabbling within ourselves, infighting within ourselves” over issues of seniority and entitlements.
“There are no solutions to some of these court cases”, the advisor said, adding that some solutions would come only when the case “dies down” or the official retires.
In this connection, he asked the directorate officers whether they want to continue fighting and trying to “outsmart” each other or serve the people and the larger interest of the children.
Yhome also noted that most of the officials come from the teaching background and were not given the necessary training when they progressed to administrative roles. Stating that being a teacher and an administrator are two very different roles, he admitted that the department has its own “structural issues” to be looked at.
In this context, it will now be mandatory for all teachers getting into the field of administration to be trained, he said.
He further stated that there are “multiple layers of discrimination” within the department’s 68 job profiles. He informed the gathering that the department is currently working to rationalise these job profiles.
He also highlighted the department’s inability to fill vacancies for DEO, SDEO, and AEO positions, leading to an executive decision to temporarily delegate these roles to the civil administration in some districts.
He also stressed on the need to improve communication within the department and lack of field reports, citing instances where schools have been closed for months without the directorate being informed. He emphasised the need to revamp the system for greater efficiency.
NEAS to be introduced
The advisor announced the department’s plan to introduce the Nagaland Education Administrative Service (NEAS) — a non-cadre service with a defined scale of pay, to eliminate infighting within the department. The NEAS will be open to all eligible candidates and will be conducted by the NPSC and NSSB, not through departmental examinations, he said.
Commissioner and Secretary School Education and SCERT, Kevileno Angami, in her speech, emphasised the crucial role of education administrators, describing them as “architects of academic success.”
The official defined the roles of an effective administrator as encompassing leadership and decision-making, leading and supervising faculty and staff, fostering a positive and inclusive school/office teamwork culture, inspecting and monitoring staff, interpreting information and analysing data, and maintaining an open and flexible approach.
Highlighting the need for administrators to balance competing interests, allocate resources wisely, to maximise student achievement and well being, she encouraged participants to embrace technology and stay updated on the latest developments in educational administration, government rules and procedures, and conduct rules.
N Thungchio Shitire, Assistant Director of the DoSE, delivered the presidential address. He emphasised the need for the government to address service cadres and ensure timely promotions for officers. He also urged the department to publish a school manual, which he said, is crucial for providing clear guidelines to teachers and the department as a whole.
The NSEAOA Constitution was released by advisor Yhome during the conference.