School Education and State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) adviser Dr Kekhrie Yhome has emphasized that the state government take a definitive step on improving the infrastructure in government schools on an urgent basis.
Interacting with the media at the airport here on Tuesday, Yhome expressed concern over the deteriorating infrastructure of government schools, admitting that the facilities built during the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s had not been properly maintained.
He said poor infrastructure in many government schools was a serious issue, stressing that the schools could not be allowed to function as cowsheds.
He urged the government to address these challenges and ensure that students had access to better learning environment.
The lack of attention to school infrastructure, according to him, was a critical issue that required immediate action to improve the quality of education in Nagaland.
Further, Yhome acknowledged that sometimes resources within the public sector were shared when granted permission.
He was referring to the Health & Family Welfare (H&FW) department operating a dispensary at one of the classrooms of Government Middle School (GMS), Midland Colony here.
However, he stressed that, while all government agencies aimed to serve the public, they should not exploit each other’s resources. “We cannot be predators, even though we operate in the same public sector,” he remarked.
Questioned on the eviction order issued by the commissioner & secretary in July that was yet to be complied with, he maintained that both healthcare and education were important.
He claimed that the government was working to ensure that the functioning of the school did not disrupt the dispensary’s functioning.
The adviser pointed that unauthorized occupation of government facilities was not limited to the healthcare sector alone, noting that many government schools, often the largest landholders in an area, attracted unauthorized use due to their extensive real estate.
On the school closure orders, particularly for Saturdays, he indicated that the state government was in the process of issuing formal guidelines soon.