Quality education remains a dream in Nagaland’s remote Pangsha range

DIMAPUR — Despite education being deemed a fundamental right, a sense of disparity pervades in the Pangsha range of Noklak district.

Home to approximately 7,000 people, the five villages within the range —Wonthoi, New Pangsha, Old Pangsha, Dan Village, and ITC (International Trade Centre) Dan—remain largely disconnected from essential services, and its residents grapple with inadequate infrastructure, healthcare, and a severe lack of quality education.

“Because of the distance, bad roads, and lack of proper facilities, we are still tagged as backward,” lamented P Shingnya, president of the Pangsha Public Organisation (PPO).

The villages of Pangsha range, located about 31 kilometres away from the district headquarter, are turning from “bad to worse”, he said

Shingnya told Eastern Mirror that there are four government schools — each with its own set of problems– catering to the five villages.

In New Pangsha, the only Government Middle School (GMS) with sufficient teachers and infrastructure stands in stark contrast to the dire situation elsewhere.

No Hindi teacher since day-1

The Government Primary School (GPS) shared by Dan Village and ITC Dan, established in 2010, has operated without a Hindi subject teacher since its inception.

N Thokpoa, an SSA teacher at the school, revealed that only four teachers are tasked with educating students across six grades (Classes A through 4). This shortage necessitates combining classes, often with Class A and Class B sharing a single room.

“With different syllabus and different lessons, it is really difficult to teach two classes in a single room”, she added.

Further exacerbating the situation is the complete absence of a Hindi language teacher since the school’s establishment in 2010. Thokpoa said that every year, progress reports are submitted with no mention of Hindi subject, but “no action has been taken till date.” She also expressed concerns about how the students will catch up with their counterparts as they progress to higher classes.

The challenges, however, extend beyond teacher shortages as Thokpoa, who has been teaching at the school since 2013, highlighted that most teachers are appointed on ad-hoc bases or given temporary Personal Information Management System (PIMS) numbers.

Additionally, salary issues continue to plague teachers, despite the implementation of stricter rules. The requirement for online submissions becomes an ordeal with unreliable network connectivity in this remote area, she added.

Shingnya explained that the PPO had previously stepped in to address the teacher shortage at the 30-year-old GMS in New Pangsha. “We used our limited funds to appoint additional teachers”, he shared, “but eventually, we could no longer afford their salaries.”

Currently, the school operates with a mere three teachers for all six grades. “While enrollment is not high, we need at least six teachers to ensure each grade has a dedicated educator”, he said.

Meanwhile, the GPS at Wonthoi, also three decades old, has six teachers for six grades. Though it is not enough, it at least fills one teacher each for all classes, he added.

On the school infrastructure, the PPO president noted that Pangsha range is part of the state and the responsibility falls on the state government. However, our villages are deprived of essential funding, including educational funds which undermines our children’s right to a quality education, he added.

Only the infrastructure of GPS Old Pangsha was renovated with funds from an MCA project and the state government also provided assistance for the construction, he said.

In this connection, Thokpoa shared that there were plans to upgrade the school at Dan village till class 5 but it had to be put on hold because of shortage of funds.

Stateway Mission School provides hope

Despite repeated appeals to the government, the majority of schools in the Pangsha range continue to grapple with significant challenges to providing quality education, according to Shingnya.

Amidst these challenges, the emergence of the privately-run Straightway Mission School (SMS) at ITC Dan in 2010, founded by Dr. Aotemshi, has offered an alternative for some.

The school, which currently enrolls over 300 students, serves children from both the Pangsha range and the neighbouring Myanmar region. This year, the SMS will see its first batch of students sit for the Class 10 board exams.

One parent, whose daughter is currently enrolled in Class 5 at SMS, shared her reasons for choosing the school. “We had heard positive feedback about the quality of education provided,” she explained.

“We are from New Pangsha and the school is far so we decided to let my daughter stay at a relative’s house at Dan,” she added.