Equip youth with life skills, not just degrees: Rio

Nagaland chief minister Dr Neiphiu Rio has called for reorienting the education system not only to promote academic excellence but also equip students with life skills, critical thinking, adaptability, and creativity to enable them to become competent, productive, and responsible global citizens.
Giving away the Chief Minister’s Meritorious Students Fellowship to top 50 meritorious students of the HSLC Examination 2025 conducted by the Nagaland Board of School Education (NBSE) at the State Banquet Hall of Chief Minister’s residential complex in Kohima on Wednesday, Rio noted that while a growing number of educated youth were being produced, many were still unemployable.
As the government sector had reached saturation point and could not absorb all the educated unemployed, he called for a shift in the mindset and priorities to adapt to the changing landscape.
As top achievers, he said the meritorious students held the potential to be competent not just at the state or national level, but globally, urging them to remain focused, committed, and industrious. He also encouraged them to consider entrepreneurship as a viable and rewarding career path since entrepreneurial skills were essential for the youth.
To address the challenges of unemployment, Rio stressed that education integrated with skill development was the need of the hour. He stated that the Government of India had launched various initiatives under its mission to skill the youth, adding that the Department of School Education in Nagaland too had introduced nine skill/vocational subjects at the secondary level and eight at the higher secondary level.
He encouraged Naga boys and girls to make full use of these opportunities.
The chief minister said it was a moment of pride and celebration to felicitate and honour the top 50 students of the HSLC examination. Congratulating them, he mentioned that their unwavering commitment, hard work, and determination had made their families, schools, and the state proud. He described them as torchbearers of tomorrow, encouraging them to continue striving for excellence in their academic journey and beyond.
Advising the students to be prepared to face tougher challenges in life, Rio urged them to instil a strong sense of discipline and cultivate sound moral values to guide them throughout their life. He reminded them that perseverance and determination were keys to achieving goals in life.
He expressed pleasure in noting the steady improvement in the overall pass percentage of the board examinations, urging the NBSE not to become complacent but continue adopting measures to further enhance the quality of education in the state.
In his introductory address, NBSE secretary and chairperson (additional charge) Rangumbuing Nsarangbe expressed his sincere gratitude to the chief minister for instituting the fellowship for the top 50 students. He claimed that the gesture and recognition given by the state government had been well received by the people, particularly the student community.
He said the fellowship had served as an inspiration for the students to showcase their academic talent and get rewarded, adding that the students had been encouraged and motivated to do better to avail the CMMSF.
He recalled that the CMMSF was instituted in 2019 to motivate as well as support the students, and the first felicitation was held on January 31, 2020 in which 55 top students of HSLC 2019 examination were awarded with the first installment of Rs 50,000 per student.
Nsarangbe elaborated that the fellowship was granted to the top 50 students in order of merit and that the selection was based on the rank/marks secured in the HSLC examination. He pointed out that the students must belong to an indigenous Scheduled Tribe of Nagaland as notified by the government and, in case of more than one person securing the same rank or marks, all of them would be included in the merit list. Hence, the number of persons to be awarded the CMMSF would vary.
He said the fellowship would be provided annually, whereby a citation along with cash award would be given to the beneficiaries of CMMSF in the first year of the grant of the fellowship.
The grant of CMMSF would be awarded for five years. However, to achieve the desired objective of the fellowship, he mentioned that the annual academic performance of the 50 awarded students would be continuously monitored.
To continue to avail the fellowship, he said the students should continue to score not less than 80% marks in the promotion/annual/ semester examination in the succeeding classes/grades every year. Non-fulfilment of the criteria would lead to the discontinuation of the grant of CMMSF. This was stated in a DIPR press release.