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Dr. Neikiesalie Kire speaking at the PSUK’s freshmen conclave.[/caption]
Dimapur, September 10 (EMN): The students’ community of the Phom tribe has been urged to ‘come out from the Backward tag’ and compete with the rest of the Naga people in the general category. The Phom students can do what others can, a minister reminded them during a students’ event in the capital recently.
The Phom Students’ Union of Kohima (PSUK) celebrated their 25th freshmen conclave on September 9 at the State Academy Hall in Kohima town. Dr. Neikiesalie Kire, minister for Road and Bridges, was the chief guest, and TL Kiusumong Tikhir, additional deputy commissioner of Kohima the guest of honour for the event.
Encouraging the new students and the gathering at the function, the minister urged the students to be board minded ‘rather than confining within the box,’ updates on Sunday from the stduents’ organisation stated.
“Referring to the rapid increase of the unemployed youth in the state, he asked the students to avail the opportunities that are provided by the skill development department because it is not possible for the government to accommodate all the educated people in the government sector,” the union’s updates, in the form of a press release, stated.
Admitting the government’s failure to provide sufficient jobs to the educated youth, he asked the youngsters not to be ‘servants’ but be ‘masters.’ He cited the example of Zynorique Team, which travels to the 11 districts training youths as a part of the Year of Construction Workers program.
The minister also cited the example of outsiders who are engaged in a blue collar jobs and said that they were ‘taking away our economy when the Naga youth only dream for government jobs.’
‘Kohima is a mini Nagaland and everyone should find a place to live,’ said Dr. Neikiesalie Kire. He maintained that Kohima was ‘the capital for all irrespective of tribes.’ While acknowledging the Phom people for their contribution to the state and also maintaining law and order in the district, he asked them to ‘uphold the same’ even in future. He termed the Longleng as the ‘peace land,’ according to the updates.
The chief guest also asked the Phom students to ‘come out from the Backward tag’ and compete with the rest of the Naga people in the general category. The Phom students can do what others can and that the Phom people were second to none.
The guest of honour TL Kiusumong Tikhir asked the students not to be good students only but be a good person. He said that being a good student and a good person were two different things.
‘Good person can be good students in schools and colleges but the good person contribute to the society,’ he said. He urged the students to also be an asset to the society rather than a liability to the society. He asked the students to inculcate a sense of competition and think about where they would be after 20 years from now.
The NCS officer encouraged the gathering to love and have a concern for the community to which one belongs. He said that ‘we can’t live in a isolation, quoting the word from Aristotle: “He who is unable to live in society, or who has no need because he is sufficient for himself, must be either a beast or a god”.
During the second session, Chingmeiloipa Phom and Easther B Phom were crowned the Mister Fresher and Miss Fresher, in that order.