Who would have imagined that a lightly clad lad from Government Lower Primary School, Waromung, under Mokokchung Sub Division in the Naga Hills of British India, would one day become the first Naga to earn a Master’s degree in Science from the prestigious University of Calcutta and obtain a Certificate in Teaching from the University of Hull in the United Kingdom?
The passing of Kiremwati Ao in February this year sent an emotional wave of bereavement across Nagaland. Condolences poured in from eminent personalities, institutions and government departments, filling the print and electronic media with tributes to a remarkable life.
While his mortal remains were being taken to the final resting place at his native village, it halted briefly at Wokha Town, where his career as an educationist had begun. Some of his former colleagues, friends and students from the erstwhile Government High School, Wokha, where he served as the first Headmaster when the school was taken over by the government in 1958, joined the present faculty, staff and students in paying their last respects to their pioneering hero. In an emotional send-off, they sang the school anthem in unison, a composition by Kiremwati Ao himself.
My late father was also his student. Like his mentor, he too chose to become a teacher and served in the same school for fifteen years as a teacher and Assistant Headmaster.
It is perhaps rather unusual to write an article about someone one barely knew and encountered only once in a lifetime. Yet, when that someone has left an indelible mark on your life, you cannot help but write down some thoughts and try to find the words that aptly describe a pioneering educationist, a visionary leader and a monumental figure in Nagaland. To write about his life is, in many ways, to trace the history of modern education in Nagaland.
The year 2000 AD marked the 50th year of India as a Republic. There was a nationwide call for debates and essay writing on contemporary issues, organised by the Ministry of Tourism and Culture, Department of Culture, Government of India.
I took part in the essay competition on Electoral Reforms and secured the first prize in the Nagaland chapter.
The prize-distribution day was marked by a debate on Educational Reforms at Zonal Hall, Kohima. Noted educationists and students from across the state took part in the day-long discussions, where Kiremwati Ao was the key resource person. I was amazed that Mr. Ao, then in his seventies, was still so articulate and coherent in his discussions. This certainly left a great impression in in my life. When I went on stage to receive my certificate and a cash prize of five thousand rupees from the Convener of the State-Level Organising Committee, K. G Kenye, the present Minister of Power and Parliamentary Affairs, Government of Nagaland, Mr. Ao, the resource person on Educational Reforms, was seated on the dais.
He too stood up to congratulate me. As we shook hands firmly, standing face to face, I noticed that his hands were shaking involuntarily. I thought to myself and murmured, “Wow! This is the
‘Muhammad Ali of Nagaland’—huge in size and intellect.”
Only about a decade later did I learn from his autobiography that the man who had profoundly reshaped the modern approach to education and revolutionised institutions had been battling Parkinson’s disease. Meeting him was an honour for me because I had heard so much about him from his former students, many of whom were then senior bureaucrats, technocrats and educationists, serving in different parts of the country and in various fields.
Kiremwati Ao was ‘primus inter pares’ throughout his career—an outstanding administrator of institutions, a reformer with vision and a strategist par excellence. These qualities undoubtedly made him a pioneer and architect of modern education in Nagaland. Under his chairmanship, the Nagaland Education Committee made vital recommendations for educational reforms in the state. Among the most notable was the Communitization of Public Institutions, particularly elementary schools, which I believe has, by and large, is being successfully implemented despite lingering challenges at the grassroots level.
Among the many firsts he achieved, mention should be made of his elevation as the first Director of Higher and Technical Education in Nagaland, the first Naga Pro Vice-Chancellor of a university—North-Eastern Hill University (NEHU)—and the first Naga Chairman of the Nagaland Education Commission.
The pressure to join the Naga national movement in the 1950s, along with his dreams of becoming a geologist or even a civil servant, were paths he ultimately had to forgo. He chose instead to devote himself to the people.
He devoted his life to the betterment of education and to improving people’s lives through it. His exemplary service to the people touched countless lives over several decades, and his legacy will continue to inspire generations to come.
Happy Teachers’ Day.
Hachipemo Patton
Block 4, Lane 2A
Padumpukhuri Village
Saturday, September 5, 2026