State Council of Educational Research & Training (SCERT) has announced from the next academic session it would do away the subject of Alternative English and replace with “heritage study” from classes 5-8 with the aim to protect, preserve and promote the rich cultural values of the Nagas.
SCERT director Vipralhou Kesiezie disclosed this during International Arts Education Week celebration at SCERT conference hall Kohima on May 29.
He said almost 90% of students were taking Alternative English instead of mother tongue thereby depriving themselves of learning anything about the cultural values of the Nagas including their own language. Director also announced that to give importance to Arts education, the SCERT Nagaland would introduce two-year diploma in visual and performing Arts in DIETs from next session 2016.
He opined that “heritage study” would be able to inculcate the traditional and cultural values of the Nagas. Kesiezie said students would be given the opportunity to learn about their own cultures and heritage relating to history, folk tales, legends, poems, dances, music, games and sports, tribal way of life, dresses /attires, food, cultivation and all related heritage. “We hope and believe that by introducing this new subject Heritage Study, we will be able to inculcate the traditional and cultural values of the Nagas,” he said.