Nagaland Education Project—The Lighthouse (NECTAR) organised a one-day training and orientation on Environment and Social Standards (ESS) for contractors of sixteen Lighthouse School Complexes (LSCs) at the Directorate of School Education (DoSE), Kohima on February 20.
Delivering the welcome note, Shashank Pratap Singh, principal director of DoSE and project director of NECTAR, highlighted the importance of LSCs under the World Bank-supported project.
He informed that contractors were selected on merit through a fair tendering process and urged them to execute quality work on time while adhering to ESS guidelines mandated by the World Bank.
In her keynote address, Kevileno Angami, commissioner and secretary of School Education & SCERT and vice chairperson of NECTAR Project Steering Committee, said the Department envisaged LSCs with essential facilities to address the poor condition of schools in Nagaland. She stressed that with support from the World Bank, the Department of Economic Affairs and the State Government, the vision of building LSCs as hubs for spoke schools in each district would be realised.
She urged contractors to complete civil works within the stipulated timeframe, cautioning that lapses would directly affect stakeholders, especially school children.
She further emphasised the need to adhere strictly to environmental and social compliances to avoid adverse impacts.
Advisor of School Education & SCERT, Dr. Kekhrielhoulie Yhome, observed that given the poor state of schools in rural Nagaland, it would be unfortunate if LSC construction was left incomplete.
He underlined the importance of becoming competent in ESS compliances, noting that future development projects would increasingly fall under global evaluation standards.
He stressed that contractors’ performance on compliance would significantly influence Nagaland’s ability to undertake future projects.
The training focused on compliance issues including labour welfare, safety, health, prevention of sexual harassment, working conditions and environmental pollution.
