[dropcap]W[/dropcap]ho does not know what is guinea pig? Has Nagaland become guinea pig? The Anti-Defection Law became effective in Nagaland w.e.f. March, 1985. Nagaland was the first State in India to use this law when one of its MLAs was disqualified in the spring of the same year for crossing the edline. Thus, that MLA became the first victim of Anti-Defection Law in the country and that MLA had gone down to the annals of Legislative history. The similar second came when Indian Parliament has been struggling at snail’s pace with its popularly unpopular proposal of 33% Reservation for esteem Indian women in Parliamentary and Legislative bodies, Nagaland State, in its zeal to please its Naga ladies ahead of the country, brought amendments to Town and Municipal Council Acts in 2006. By this amendment, 33% of seat is reserved for Naga women in Town and Municipal councils. And when the elections for Municipal
councils were due, the new Act had to be enforced in letter and spirit. To utter surprise of women in particular, State Govt. decided to postpone those elections indefinitely till today. Possibly, the
major reason is that the Govt. got sandwiched between its reservation quota and women. Perhaps, the amended Act is found to be Frankenstein’s movie.
The similar third is the invocation of Right To Education (RTE) Act of 2009 by Govt. of Nagaland. After the introduction of RTE, many States invoked it and so Nagaland too. Yet, Nagaland was not ready. See the ground realities. With due respect to those few dedicated teachers, despite of having high paper degrees, particularly our local teachers are found to be subjective teachers.
In other words, their sole desire to be teacher is to enjoy salary without teaching children. Most of those teachers who treat their profession as secondary have arranged private substitutes in onnivance with Village Education Committees and have been enjoying percentage of the salary.
For sure the Govt. is particular about the educational qualification of each teacher inductee, and yet the business of substitution has no stricture. Most of those substitutes are hardly qualified and cannot be expected to give the requisite inputs apart from filling the gap. Whereas, the Govt. knowing fully allows the haywire to remain at the expense of innocent and pathetic children. That being the ground realities, how Nagaland can do justice to its children under RTE Act?
Holistic learning under RTE Act is what is required for quality education. Nevertheless, the policy is perhaps too demanding from the kind of work culture we have been comfortable with. It is a hallenge
to decision makers that our teachers are yet to be motivated to be serious, to impart true education to whom one teaches and not to be careless and casual with the destiny of our children. Is it not
painful to admit that even after 52 years of Statehood, we, excluding the children, are not fit to implement as we failed to cope up with RTE Act in the State?
The leaders and the subject matter specialists on education should have been cautious and prudent enough to understand as to whether the RTE Act would suit us. Beside those local discrepancies, RTE Act seems to be bereft of disciplinary tooth.
The Non Detention Policy becomes the antithesis of the Act. Without disciplinary mechanisms as motivation, reprimand, detention, suspension and expulsion, what magical options do we have to tame the disoriented lot? Yet, in haste, Nagaland embraced the new system of education for our school children.
Z Lohe
