Minister for higher education and tribal affairs, Temjen Imna Along, maintained that implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 would provide definitive and facilitative answers to the needs of Nagas.
Speaking at the inaugural session of the two-day national seminar on “National Education Policy, Challenges for the North East”, held at St. Joseph University, here on Friday, the minister said that there was a crisis in the state concerning Naga identity, culture and tradition and maintained that NEP when implemented would be able to solve the crisis in a greater manner and provide definitive and facilitative answers to the needs of Nagas.
Asserting that there was no subject matter in the present education system in Nagaland to preserve Naga tradition, Along said that National Education Policy had the potential to build robust environment and policy to “preserve our traditional heritage and culture to be the backbone of our understanding.”
Further, he maintained that Nagaland with a population of around 20 lakh people was one of the most educated states in the country having the most employed population in the government sector, but was considered as the most unemployed people in the country according to statistics.
Along said that NEP would provide the chance and the privilege to be knowledgeable, and not certificate granted education.
He also claimed that NEP would bring sea change to the thought processes of looking at education realistically, reiterating it to be holistic. The minister maintained that at every level of education, one would receive its credit, and that one would have the ability to be multi-talented, possessing knowledge as one’s base of education and not certificate as a base of qualification.
Once implementation of NEP starts, he said the policy would water the roots to new way of educating the nations human resource, which would ultimately culminate in holistic empowerment of educated people.
He acknowledged the initiative of the ministry of education, and the vision of prime minister, Narendra Modi, for such inclusive and assimilating NEP. Along further claimed that the police once implemented would transform the very outlook of human resource of the country.
The minister informed that the government was not asking to implement NEP immediately, but gradually.
Earlier, the programme was chaired by assistant professor, department of education, Livi Keturah Yeptho and invocation was offered by deputy registrar, Sr. M Thianes.
Welcome address was delivered by HoD, dept. of Education, Dr. Imkongsenla Longchar, while director, ICSSR, Shillong, prof. B Panda, gave keynote address.
The seminar was organised by St. Joseph University, Department of Education and sponsored by Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR).