Principal Murdered – Principles Buried!!

Few days back the principal of a private engineering college in southern Tamil Nadu was brutally murdered by three of his own students on the college campus while many students and staff were witnessing the horror in panic. The three students had created series of problems that led to the suspension of one of them for few days and the disciplinary action provoked them to wreak vengeance on the slain college head.

The incident which is beyond our imagination has shattered the entire teachers’ community and definitely this is a symptom of the presence of a deadly disease in our present society. Could a principal / teacher ever imagine that one of his students would stab him in stomach and other two would fatally attack with long knives on his head? Unfortunately, the culturally degraded society has made it realistic. 

The murder has ignited a serious of debate among academicians, students and the public. While many people have superficially analysed the case and engaged in blame game, academicians and authorities have cautiously used diplomatic words so that no one would feel offended. It appears that the academicians and intellectuals are not willing to open the Can of Worms in the public. Members of the All India Federation of University and College Teachers’ Organisations said such instances are mainly due to academic stress in the students and the management pressure on professors to perform, especially in the private institutions. The Vice President of AIFUCTO said, “Mentoring must be continuous, and not ritualistic to oblige an internal examination requirement. The government should try to evolve an institutional mechanism that provides necessary emotional and pharmacological support to stressed-out learners and middle-aged professors working in challenging circumstances but facing uncertain future.”

I believe that the ‘academic stress’ on the students and the ‘pressure on professors to perform’ should have started from the day the private engineering colleges were allowed to mushroom in our country. Parents want their children to study the most demanded courses even though their children may NOT have the aptitude to study the particular course. The greedy private colleges happily admit these blind folded youngsters solely for money and force the underpaid young professors to bring miraculous results. All the managements need is 100 % result because that alone would ensure the successful running of their business. Unfortunately, many faculty members in the private institutions behave like slaves and seldom have liberty to express their views to the managements. So, they simply turn the heat on the students. This is the beginning of misunderstanding between teachers and students and the result is what we witness now.

It is a well known fact that many private engineering colleges in Tamil Nadu practice the innovative way of imposing unreasonable fines for each and every fault of students. Late arrival, not attending classes and internal exams, failing in Semester Exams etc are few examples that would attract invoking of the penal action of imposing heavy fines. Students from the well to do families may not have problems to comply with this order but the condition of students coming from the economically backward sections of the society is so pathetic. Their parents might have spent the entire savings at the time of admissions and in most cases the students might be continuing their studies on Bank Loans. One may not easily realise the plight of such families unless they witness it themselves.

The accused in the present murder case reported that the college authorities have been imposing fine of Rs.1000/-(one thousand) even for late arrival of 10 minutes, use to summon the parents over trivial matters and insult the students with abusive words in the presence of parents. Whatever it may be, no one could ever justify the gruesome act of the students. But at the same time we must admit that the highly qualified professors utterly failed to understand the psychology of today’s youth.         

A noted Tamil writer (Paamaran) has expressed critical views about the incident and I absolutely agree with his fearless views. Here is the extract of his opinion.

“Instant criticisms and punishing the accused in unfortunate incidents are like taking pain killers without treating the cause of the disease and would never bring permanent solutions to the problems. Today, most of the Educational Institutions are owned by Politicians and Liquid Barons who manage the organizations with the help of political, muscle and money powers. Parents, Students or anyone who raise their voice against these managements are threatened with dire consequences and are mostly suppressed. Those students who rise against the suppression ultimately become the victims of violence.

A section of the teaching faculty is also blamed for the fallout of the situation. Today’s teacher was yesterday’s student and also comes from the same degraded society. He is also influenced by the cultural degradedness of the society and we could not expect sudden behavioural changes once he becomes a teacher.

Today’s education system moulds the younger generation as revenue earning machines and fails to change them into Human Resources with Character and Social Concern. The behaviour of vengeance dominates today’s educated class and the entire society is responsible for the violent nature of the misguided youth. Therefore, in order to bring changes in the younger generation, we must begin changes from the grass root level of the society.”

Even though the Naga Society suffers from the shortcomings of armed conflicts, I would honestly say that teachers serving in Nagaland have been highly regarded by the society and the students. In the days of globalization, we should learn lessons from the incidents happening in our neighbourhood and correct ourselves before our society gets infected by the deadly disease. I sincerely pray that let Nagaland continue to be an example to the proverb ‘Parents are Teachers at Home and Teachers are Parents at School’.

‘Academic and Career Guidance Cell’ - An Effort Towards Changing of Lives !

Shri Mhonlumo Kikon, MLA and Chairman  MARCOFED, inaugurated the ‘Academic and Career Guidance Cell’ at Govt. Higher Secondary School, Bhandari on 31^st August 2013 in a simple, impressive  programme organized at the school premises. The programme was chaired by Zanbeni Humtsoe(PGT) and started with invocation pronounced by Nongothung Ezung, Associate Pastor, BTBE . Welcome address was delivered by Phandemo Lotha, Headmaster, GHSS, Bhandari followed by an introductory to ‘Academic and Career Guidance Cell’ by Nellayappan B, Principal of the school.

In his speech, the Principal informed that the plight of the loving and affectionate people   of the under developed area made him to realize the need to establish the Academic and Career Guidance Cell at the school. He emphasized that today’s children are more vulnerable to the evilness existing in the society and many misguided children are victimized. When a child commit a mistake, generally authorities look in to what the child has done and most of the times fail to look in to the aspect of why the child has done it. He asserted that it is the duty of the school to protect the young generation from the ill effects of the materialist society and informed that the Guidance Cell would give special attention to understand the problems faced by the children and would help to initiate necessary corrective measures by the teachers and the school authority. Besides enlightening the students about the various academic avenues available for pursuing higher studies in India and Abroad, the Cell will also provide coaching classes for various competitive examinations such as Staff Selection Commission, Bank & Insurance Recruitments, Teacher Eligibility Test etc.

The Chief Guest of the programme Shri. Mhonlumo Kikon, MLA and Chairman MARCOFED in his exhortation lauded the initiative of the Principal and the Teaching faculty of GHSS, Bhandari and termed it as ‘transformative’ and urged them to uphold this ‘missionary’ zeal. The MLA has expressed happiness for the developmental activities undertaken in the school and assured to extend all possible helps for the development of the School. While appreciating the Principal for implementing the policy of Zero Tolerance for Proxy Teachers, the MLA has expressed anguish over the practice of engaging proxy teachers by few school management committees and urged them to stop it immediately. He warned that he would ensure severest punishment for those engaging in this evil practice that deprives the children and the society of their genuine rights. He asked the Govt. school teachers to be more sincere and dutiful so that the Govt. schools could also produce quality results like the private schools. The MLA regretted for the apathy showed towards the development of his constituency that shares its border with the neighboring state Assam and briefed about various developmental plans he has initiated within the short time of his becoming the MLA of the Constituency He assured the people that he would put all his efforts to bring positive changes in his constituency in the coming days.

            

Yiphyolumo Mozhi, President, LLRPO and Khonthungia Odyuo, Secretary, Parent Teacher Association, GHSS, Bhandari & Former President LLPRO spoke on the occasion and conveyed their  best wishes and assured the school authority of full support in its endeavors for the uplift of the society. The programme was concluded with a note of gratitude delivered by  Litongpi Ayong(PGT) and thereafter Bendiction by Fr. Amos Kikon, Principal, Don Bosco HSS, Bhandari.

The programme was graced by the presence of Lungheisingim ADC, Bhandari, Major Sanjoy, 17 Assam Rifles, Head of Offices of various Govt. establishments in Bhandari, Chairman & Office Bearers  Lotha Hoho, President & Office Bearers  Elo  Hoho , President  & Office Bearers LLPRO, President  & Office Bearers Bhandari Town Students Union,   President  & Office Bearers LLRSU, Fr. Joseph, Priest Don Bosco Church Bhandari, and Prominent Citizens of Bhandari .  

Look Beyond M.B.B.S and B.E

Results of JEE 2013 have been declared and many parents whose children could not secure medical & engineering seats of their choice might be spending depressed days and sleepless nights worrying about the future of their children. Do not worry so much my friends; there are many avenues for your children to pursue for a bright future.   

Most of us have developed a misconception that medical and engineering are the only fields of study that would ensure a bright future for our children. There is no denial that these professions are the first choice for many talented people. But we must not forget that every field of study offers good scope for those who excel in whatever they study.

The present state of technical education in our country is highly discouraging. The Vice Chancellor of a reputed Technical University recently told that more than 70 % of the engineering graduates in our country are unemployable. The commercialization of professional education has lead to the mushrooming of engineering colleges in many states and the result is the production of lakhs and lakhs of unemployable engineers. Therefore, one should be more careful before selecting his / her college of study so that he /she could get themselves included in the list of employable engineers.

I would give a simple statistics regarding the state of affairs of engineering education in my home state Tamilnadu so that you could assess the condition of the same in the other states. There are 560 engineering colleges in Tamilnadu and nearly Two Lakh B.E seats( 50% of total seats) are  reserved to be filled by  the Govt. on merit basis. This year, out of this two lakh Govt. quota seats only one lakh twenty three thousand seats are filled and 77,000 seats remain vacant and get lapsed. Interestingly, NO seat remain vacant in Govt. colleges where as there are no takers for large number of seats in many private colleges. The reason; students are well aware of the quality of education offered in those institutions (Shall we dream of such a situation in Nagaland?).          

Even though the state of medical education has not deteriorated like that of technical education, the trend is definitely not encouraging. Everyone knows the cost of seats in the private medical colleges but the worries of getting admission in private medical colleges are now restricted mainly to the elite class of our society.(Ultimately the common men have to reimburse the cost of study of these upper class doctors through the unnecessary medical bills).

In the present situation, the conventional degree courses stand as one of the best options for many talented students. Numerous choices are available for the students and there is good demand for research scholars in all the subjects. Parents and Teachers should help children to identify their inherent field of interest and should expose them to the variety of courses available in the fields of Arts, Science, Commerce, Humanity, Music, Fashion etc. so that children could get admitted in to the right course in the right institution.

Let us keep one thing in mind. In the coming decades very few jobs would be available in the Govt. sector and most of the works would be outsourced to the private sector. The degrees alone will not help to find a placement because the private sector would recruit only those who have knowledge and competency.

Illiterate Parents, Innocent Children and Indifferent Teachers

The declaration of the results of the HSLC Exam.-2013 once again ignites the usual debate on the analysis of the poor performance of Govt. Schools in Nagaland. Our Hon’ble Chief Minister and many other people’s representatives have already expressed their anguish over the state of affairs of the Govt. schools. Many responsible individuals and organizations have been airing their concerns and suggesting remedial measures for the improvement of the plight of Govt. schools. In fact, this is a complex issue and different people have been analyzing the causes from different angles. But the objective of all the writers is the same; everyone wants to witness the progress the Govt. school children. 

Most of the writers have been free from prejudices in their approach but we could sense the behavior of defense mechanism in the write ups few of them. Of course it is quite natural; the habit of rationalizing failure is found in almost every person.  But I feel sad that many have shifted the blame on the underprivileged, uneducated parents and the innocent children. It is the easiest thing for us because we are sure that these helpless people will never raise their voice against us. The analysis made by the All Nagaland School Teachers Association in this regard is comprehensive and I honestly agree with most of their observations. But unfortunately their report is also not free from the above stated defect.

Many writers have cited the poor quality / background of students as one of the reason for the poor results. Some writers have even stated that most of the students in Govt. schools are domestic helps who don’t get enough time to devote to studies. I do agree that most of the Government school students belong to the poorer sections of society and from rural backgrounds, whose parents are mostly illiterate and could not ensure to provide proper study hours to their children. But let us NOT forget that we are given a secured Govt. job and paid a handsome salary by the Govt. for bringing changes in the life of these poor children.

We should remember that the Govt. schools are NOT criticised for failing to produce qualitative results. All the society expects from us at this juncture is only a quantitative result. In simple words, we are not asked to produce rank holders now. All we are asked is to ensure at least a reasonable pass % with the minimum pass marks. I have attended few training programmes conducted by the NCERT and SCERT on the New Curriculum Framework and were fortunate to be trained by some of the best Academicians of our country. I could confidently say that a student could easily secure the minimum pass marks even if he/she could not devote time for home study. All a child needs is sincere & systematic teaching at the school. Another important fact is that whatever may be the environment at home, a student would definitely find time to study if he/she is inspired by the teacher. Unfortunately, our greatest shortcoming is that many of the teachers fail to inspire their students.

Many writers have also blamed the Non-Detention policy under the RTE act for the poor performance of Govt. schools. Unfortunately, the essence of the above policy has been misconceived by many authorities and teachers. The intention of the Non –detention policy is to ensure the completion of Elementary School Education of every child by the tireless and dedicated efforts of the teachers through Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation. But in reality it has been taken granted that children should be promoted till class 9 without bothering to provide them the knowledge and skills necessary for continuing further studies at the upper secondary stage. It seems that we have a Right Policy at a Wrong Place.

Please note that I am not blaming the teachers alone for the shortcomings described above. It is the whole system which is to be blamed. But, for a child the teacher is the main link between his life and the world outside. So, the responsibility of teachers is much more than anybody else. The remedial measures suggested by ANSTA are comprehensive and all we need to do is rededicate our self to the cause of education and serve God through the service of mankind.

Fake Degrees & Infamous Universities

Recently you might have come across the news items ‘Arrest warrant against private varsity’s chief in Meghalaya’ and ‘CID sleuths arrest CMJ varsity Deputy Registrar’. Many of us might not have taken the news seriously. But I am sure a good number of Professionals and Students from Nagaland might have been shattered by the news. The private university in the state capital of Meghalaya hit media headlines after the Governor of Meghalaya, who is also the visitor of the university, exposed alleged irregularities in its functioning. Non-bailable arrest warrants have been issued against the University’s Chancellor and many of its senior officers under penal provisions for forgery, cheating etc and all of them have allegedly gone in to hiding after the anticipatory bail plea of some of them was rejected.

The university has created a record of sorts by awarding doctorate degrees to 434 candidates in the 2012-13 academic year and enrolled 490 students for the programme during 2012-13, even as only 10 of its faculty members have doctorate degrees.I am sure that most of the awardees of the degrees might have purchased them for a good price and they should also be brought under the probe.

Few months back the above University issued advertisements offering admission to B.Ed., M.Ed. etc degree courses through distance education mode. But the B.Ed. & M.Ed. degrees offered by the university are NOT recognized by the National Council of Teacher Education and the Distance Education Council. You may be aware that B.Ed. degrees offered by universities without the recognition of NCTE are NOT eligible for getting appointments in Govt. sector. More over the recognition of the Distance Education Council is mandatory for all the courses offered through distance education mode.  

Of course one may pursue a course of his/her choice for the purpose of acquiring knowledge without bothering about the recognition by Govt. regulatory bodies. But the concerned universities/ institutions should clearly state in their prospectus & web site about the status of the degrees/ courses offered by them. Many innocent peoples may join these courses with the hope of getting Govt. jobs and would realize about the truth only at a later stage. People should also avoid  getting distracted by misleading advertisements when enough opportunities are available for pursuing recognized courses of study.

“Your Intentions Are Good ! But…. This is Nagaland” !!

Many organizations and individuals are struggling whole heartedly to make India a corruption free country and it really give us the hope that our children would live in a country where people indulge in corrupt practices rarely. At least this is what we wish to say externally. In fact most of us do not believe that corruption could be easily rooted out from our society.

People now talk about scams of hundreds of crores and corruption at small scale has become an accepted norm in daily life. The anti corruption warriors concentrate on fighting corruption at highest levels but it seems that no importance is given to clean the system at the lowest level. I personally feel that the present scenario we witness regarding the anti- corruption movement may not bring much change in our society. Corruption is now like a deep rooted grown up tree and it is not possible to weed out it by cutting few branches here and there; it has to be weeded out from the grass root level.

In my opinion the basic reason for the rapid growth of corruption at the lowest level is the change in attitude of society. Few decades back people were regarded on the basis of their goodness but now most of the people value only money and not the values. All one needs to have is wealth and no one will utter a word about the means of its accumulation. As long as the attitude of the society remains as of today, the efforts made by the anti corruption warriors will bring no practical change in our life.

When I was serving as a Teacher I wrote an article about the corrupt practices employed by a section of teachers. In that article I proudly stated I have not yet been infected by the disease corruption and my past, present and future students would be the judges of my claim. One of my colleagues congratulated me for the write up and warned me, “Let me see what you would do when you get access to money and power”. My friend was right; it was easy to keep myself away from clutches of corruption when I was a teacher. Now, I am the Principal of a Govt. Higher Secondary School and struggling to live with my principles. One of my friend recently said, “Your intentions are good; but be practical; this is Nagaland”. I am really confused my friends. “ …this is Nagaland…” What does it mean? Does it mean that honest and upright officers must compromise? Is my friend’s statement the sad reality or an excuse framed by corrupt officials for self defense?

Whatever it may be, I have decided to go ahead in the way of Truth.  The plight of the poor students coming to my school gives me the strength to discharge my duties honestly and I am sure that the Almighty would use me as a tool to help His beloved children.

Respect and Dignity for Women

“There is a pressing need to bring about a change in the mindset of the society so that women are treated with dignity and respect”, President of Republic of India said on 10^th Feb 2013 at New Delhi. When our country is shattered by news of frequent occurrence of rapes, the words of the President has to be looked very seriously by the society.

Women had been suppressed for centuries throughout the world and to a greater extend in our country. Today, education and employment has reduced the plight of women in our society considerably. The mindset of a good percentage of Indian males has also changed from the traditional aggressive ones to that of understanding life partners. But unfortunately majority of the women in our country still continue to suffer at the hands of arrogant men. If women from the lower sections of the society are physically assaulted by men, women from the middle class and the upper class are subjected to undefined mental tortures.

The plights of many working women in Indian society are horrifying. Very few of them have understanding family members and majority are compelled to bear the stress by them self for the sake of children. It is not possible to describe the hardships faced by women at work place in an article like this and I would share my views about the state of affairs existing in the two most important sectors of the Indian society.

In our country the professions of Health Care and Teaching are considered as noble professions. One takes care of the wellbeing of body and the other of mind. I sincerely believe that the services rendered by the professionals of these two sectors play an important role in shaping the future of our country. Unfortunately, the state of affairs going on in these sectors is highly discouraging.

A recently published research report regarding the status of Nurses in the private sector describes the horrifying conditions under which majority of our Nightingales are serving. Few months back some of them in the South India raised their voices against the ‘Crorepati’ hospital managements but political parties and numerous associations of our country had No time to extend their support to the suppressed employees. It is highly regretted that none of the Doctors or their Associations uttered a word of support to the exploited nurses. It is a well-known fact that no doctor would be able to exhibit his/her talents without the dedicated support of the nurses.

The entire nation use to greet the teachers on Teacher’s Day and praises them for their dedicated work in shaping the future of our nation. But conveniently we all forget that the private school teachers are the lowest paid professionals in our country. Most of the private schools prefer to appoint women teachers mainly for two reasons. One is for their patience and proficiency in teaching and the other reason is that comparatively it is easy to change the disadvantaged women in to perfect slaves. Teachers are called the builders of nation but it is a sad truth that they are unable to build their own life in the way they wish.

I would honestly say that most of the women employees contribute their best to the employers in spite of the hardships faced by them at home and work place. But unfortunately women in our country continue to live as a suppressed class.  If we need to bring change in the mind set of the society, the Health Care and Teaching sectors should be the first to begin with because they take care of the body and soul of our nation.