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www.morungexpress.com
Dimapur VOL. VIII ISSUE 262
The Morung Express “
www.morungexpress.com
Tuesday, September 24, 2013 12+4 pages Rs. 4
The truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it
‘Act with full force against rioters’
Hurley ‘furious’ as Warne refused to set a wedding date
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State in favour of proposed Goods and Services Tax
–Flannery O’Connor
[ PAGE 02]
Ronaldo leads Real win with Bale injured
[ PAGE 09]
[ PAGE 10 ]
Christians protest church bombing
[ PAGE 11]
[ PAGE 08]
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A teAcher’s DilemmA?
reflections
By Sandemo Ngullie
No examinations, no detentions till class VII
Longrangty Longchar
Mokokchung | September 23
“....Ganja, Booze and sometimes they carry oil too”
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Condemnation alone is obsolete: NAYO DIMAPUR, SEPTEMBER 23 (MExN): The Northern Angami Youth Organization (NAYO) today said that the “continuous cycle of violence being engaged in by warring factions in Northern Angami land has reached a level where condemnation alone is obsolete.” A press note from the President and Press Secretary of NAYO lamented that the public seems to be more concerned about the Naga issue than “our so called national leaders, trampling all reasoning and prayers for reconciliation.” It further pointed out that numerous appeals made by various apex Naga NGO’s and a tested public have fallen on deaf ears till date. Appealing on behalf of the public, the NAYO urged all erring factions to immediately search earnestly for ways and means to attain peace or even a truce. Full text on page 4
JVN Peren urges students to return
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PEREN, SEPTEMBER 23 (MExN): In connection to the ragging incident which occurred at Jawahar Navodaya Vidyala, Jalukie, it was informed that the Class 10 students who had ragged their seniors apologized on September 23 in a meeting held at the school premises. The meeting was held in consequence of a resolution passed during a previous consultative meet on September 19 between the ADC, Peren; VMC and PTC members of the school; ZSU (N), JSU and the staff. The Principal of the school in a press note informed that the class 10 students apologized and signed a ‘Good Character Bond’ jointly with the parents in the presence of the SDO, Jalukie with further assurance to avoid any in disciplinary action. The authority and administration have assured the parents and guardians that no such incident will happen again in the future. The authority further assured “full safety and security” of the students. As such, the students who fled the school have been requested to report to the school positively by September 25, since the term-1 exams are in the offing.
A policeman carries a baby to safety on the barrel of his gun while a woman ducks for safety behind him on September 23. Kenya’s military launched a major operation at the upscale nairobi mall and said it had rescued “most” of the hostages being held captive by al-Qaida-linked militants during the standoff. The Red Cross has put the death toll from the attack at 62. (Reuters Photo) Detailed report on Page 9
The evolving programmes initiated by the Central Government is also ensuring that the Nagaland education system is rapidly changing. There is the mid-day meal scheme, free text books and uniforms, and the most revolutionary of all, the Continuous Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) being implemented under the RTE Act. CCE stipulates that there will be no examination and no detention of students till Class VII. There will only be regular class-tests until the child learns the lessons. Many teachers are concerned by the CCE and some prefer the old system, where terminal examinations were held and poor students were detained if they failed in the examinations. The Morung Express collected views of some government primary and middle school teachers. Many say that the CCE system will compromise quality education at the altar of quantitative education. A teacher posted in a GPS in Mokokchung, (who wished not to be named, in fact none of the teachers wanted to be identified lest there should be some trouble from the education de-
partment) confessed that he finds it difficult to evaluate some students in the class as they never learn irrespective of the way they are taught. “There is one student (12 years) studying in Class III, she did not study her lower classes and came straight to Class III. She can’t read or write even the basic alphabet. But we have to make her get through to the next class. So sometimes we just open the text books and let the students copy during the class tests,” he said. “There are many students in our school studying in Class VI and V who cannot even read books of Class I or II,” said another graduate science teacher. He expressed concern that many students will find it difficult to get through the final Class IX board exams and especially HSSLC examinations, since most students are getting through to higher classes without learning much. CCE was supposed to be a flagship programme under the Right to Education Act to improve education. So what is the problem? “Earlier, students used to appear terminal exams and they were detained if they failed in their examinations. But now with the no detention policy, students know they will get through
no matter what and therefore, they don’t take their lessons seriously,” said the teacher, who wished to be identified only as Bendang. Another GPS teacher posted in an interior place, and serving for the past eleven years pointed out that there are different types of students – “some dull, some intelligent and some average.” Whenever a student fails in the weekly tests, teachers have to conduct retests for the particular student, while the other students have moved to other chapters in the syllabus. This creates a disparity in the learning process and adds to the stress and workload of the teachers, said the teacher. The CCE system is being discussed in silence by many parents as well, who feel that their children’s education might be compromised. Sources informed that a reputed private school in Mokokchung had sent a questionnaire to parents asking their opinion on the new system. It is also learnt that some private schools are conducting terminal examinations despite the CCE system in place, to assess the overall performance of the students. Some people are also skeptical whether every law passed by the Indian
Parliament should be implemented in Nagaland or not, depending on its applicability. While the intentions of the CCE system might be noble and genuine, the fears of the teachers also seem quite pragmatic and alarming. And though there might be thousands of young students in primary and middle classes passing out every year, it remains to be seen whether their education is qualitative or quantitative. It may be noted that the 2012 Annual Status of Education Report (ASER), published by NGO Pratham, underscored declining reading levels and learning outcomes across states. ASER 2012 reported that more than half of all children in class 5 are at least three grade levels behind where they should be in terms of learning levels; the report partly attributed this trend to the UPA’s flagship Right to Education Act. Pratham CEO, Madhav Chavan blamed this on relaxed classroom rigour and the no-exam format ushered in by the RTE Act. Only 30 per cent of class 3 students could read a class 1 text book in 2012, down from 50 per cent in 2008. A thorough research into the educational system here could indicate some similarities with the ASER report.
cm will not contest 2014 ls poll Youth Summit emphasizes on Chizokho Vero
Kohima | September 23
The Democratic Alliance of Nagaland (DAN) today totally ruled out the possibility of Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio making his entry to Delhi by contesting in the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls. Addressing a press conference here after an emergency close-door meeting of DAN legislators and partners at the Naga People’s Front Central Office, Minister for Parliamentary Affairs and Roads & Bridges Kuzholuzo (Azo) Nienu told media persons that there have been rumors of Rio going to Delhi, to represent as Member of Parliament. However he stated that DAN has taken a con-
DAN takes unanimous decision to keep Neiphiu Rio in Nagaland
sensus decision not to send him to the Lok Sabha. “We cannot allow him, we cannot spare him, because we feel that the state is more important than the Centre right at this moment and the home affairs of the state is much more important, so today collectively DAN alliance have decided that we will not send him to Delhi, but he will continue as the Chief Minister of Nagaland”, Azo said. Azo added that it was a unanimous decision of DAN not to send him for Lok Sabha polls and that it wanted to make this clear
to the people. “We wanted to finish this issue once and for all,” Azo said. He added that a meeting will be held with the Chief Minister when he returns from tour and that the decision of the legislators as well as the DAN partners would be put up. NPF president Dr. Shurhozelie Liezietsu said that the party attended today’s meeting on invitation and expressed that the DAN have taken a consensus decision to not to allow Rio to go for MP. BJP Nagaland unit president Dr. N.Chuba and JD (U) Nagaland presi-
dent Mhonjan Lotha also endorsed the decision. Minister for health & family welfare Imkong L Imchen also said that it was a consensus decision that DAN will not send Rio to Delhi. ‘The legislature of the DAN is not willing to spare his services in Delhi, but to continue here as the Chief Minister of the state,” Imchen said adding that Rio should not leave a big responsibility at home and move to Delhi as Nagaland requires overall development. It may be recalled that The Telegraph had recently reported that Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio had expressed willingness to contest the 2014 general elections.
nagaland signs moU ‘Dramatic’ progress in for chopper services fight against AIDS: UN
KohIMA, SEPTEMBER 23 (DIPR): The Nagaland state government has signed an agreement with Thumby Aviation Pvt. Ltd for operating helicopter service in Nagaland. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed on September 23 with the Nagaland state government represented by the Commissioner and Secretary for Transport and Thumby Aviation Pvt Ltd represented by its Chairman & Managing Director (CMD). The Commissioner and Secretary for Transport informed that the services will begin at the earliest, and that the agreement is initially for two years which may be extended later. He also said that Nagaland would fully comply with the regulatory stipulation standard notified by the Assam Rifles. He informed that Dimapur will be the base station and that
the service will be of a high standard. Two 13 seater choppers BEL-412 will be provided, one of which will be for regular service and the other for stand by and emergency services. The Commissioner and Secretary for Transport also disclosed that Nagaland Civil Aviation Board will be set up soon to execute mechanism for managing airlines and helicopter services. He added that a Civil Aviation Academy might be established in the near future through Higher Education and Youth Resources & Sports departments. He further said that Peren, Pfutsero, Mon, Shamator, Noklak etc will be managed by the Civil Administration and Transport department of the State and. He added that a small air strip in addition to helipads is intended to be made in some places of the State.
LoNDoN, SEPTEMBER 23 (REUTERS): The global rate of HIV infection and the number of AIDS-related deaths have been dramatically reduced, thanks to expanding access to treatment, the United Nations said in a report issued on Monday. In its annual update on HIV, which it said now infects around 35.3 million people worldwide, UNAIDS said deaths from AIDS and HIV infection rates were falling, while the number of people getting treatment is going up. AIDS-related deaths in 2012 fell to 1.6 million, down from 1.7 million in 2011 and a peak of 2.3 million in 2005. And the number of people newly infected with the disease dropped to 2.3 million in 2012 down from 2.5 million in 2011. The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that causes AIDS can be transmitted via blood, breast milk and by semen during sex, but can be kept in check with cocktails of drugs known as antiretroviral treatment or therapy. By the end of 2012, some 9.7 million people in poorer and middle-income countries had access to such AIDS drugs, an increase of nearly 20 percent in a year. Since 2001, the U.N. report said, there has been a 52 percent drop in annual new HIV infections among children and a 33 percent reduction in newly infected adults and children combined.
inclusion and indigenization
Indian Himalaya Youth Summit ends Morung Express news Kohima | September 23
As the first Indian Himalaya Youth Summit came to an end on September 23 at Kisama, participants from the 10 Himalayan states concluded by consolidating young voices on development preferences where their aspirations were revisited, presentations were made and several recommendations were given. This was in preparation for the upcoming Sustainable Mountain Development Summit. “This Youth Summit has given me a better understanding on the concept of sustainable development and the current problems that our mountain states are facing today.” says Swastika from Darjeeling who works with the NGO Chai Project. The challenges and opportunities of Sustainable Development in the water sector, agricultural and forest sector including solutions and key lessons learnt were also discussed. Another important topic discussed was ‘Sustainable solution- a reality or fiction?’ Tenzin Lepcha Tenzin is a 30 year old farmer from Sikkim participating at the Indian Himalaya Youth Summit. He works for the NGO, Affected Citizen of Testa which works on dam issues. “Sustainable development is a concept that is attached to what we do. We focus on restoring indigenous structures and promoting organic farming,” says Tenzin. He belongs to the first
Tenzin Lepcha, one of the participants at the Indian Himalaya Youth Summit which ended on September 23. Tenzin works for an nGO, Affected Citizen of Testa which focuses on Dam issues.
Some of the important recommendations highlighted at the summit based on water, forest, agriculture and land are: • Start a youth set up at the institution of Indian Mountain Initiative (IMI) to address issues of the mountain states. • Appoint a combined steering committee for the review of agricultural policies of mountain states and come up with recommendations specific to the region. Eg. Production, market linkage • Promote Youth Entrepreneurship • Implement village-friendly policies: A bottom up approach especially related with forest. • Inclusion of local history and culture in educational curriculum. • To have more civil society representation in Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) • To identify water springs, preserve them for supply and lobby with government policy makers. • Environmental education at educational institutions. • Integrated tourism involving more youths thus reducing unemployment • Introduce proper town planning and proper development activities. • Empower local communities and secure forest rights
group in his village to start the marketing their agricultural production. He says that their older generation was more focused on sustaining themselves. “We started this so that our next younger generation can cope up with the changes. We employ the youths, let them work and earn so that they don’t depend on their parents.” The NGO that Tenzin
works for, opposes dam constructions and also works in preserving and restoration of historical relics. They try to educate people on agriculture and tourism. Tenzin further adds, “Instead of selling our land to big companies, we can make use of our own land. It helps generate income, employ the local people and we do not have to be completely dependent on the government.”
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