[ Pisi Zauing ]
CHANGLANG, 13 Sep: Education Minister PD Sona was on an official tour of Changlang district, accompanied by his adviser and Roing MLA Mitchu Mithi and Education Commissioner Amjad Tak, on Thursday.
Sona convened a brainstorming session to ensure holistic modification and development of the education ecosystem. It was attended by members of various community-based organisations of Changlang district, and the district education officers.
Marathon deliberations on clubbing of schools, evaluation of school infrastructures, teachers’ training, performance of students, and other issues concerning the development of the education sectorwere held during the event.
Singpho Women Organisation (SWO) general secretary Pinna Kitnal Singpho and the Arunachal Pradesh Women’s Welfare Society’s Miao unit president Nitu Singpho also participated in the session and shared their views.
The SWO general secretary submitted a five-point memorandum to the minister, demanding appointment of Singpho language teachers in the upper primary, secondary and higher secondary schools in the Singpho inhabited areas.
She also urged the education minister to “allot dedicated and adequate funds for conducting Singpho writers’ workshops, as per the laid down government norms.”
The memorandum stated that almost all higher secondary schools in Changlang district are functioning without subject teachers, and that the contractual subject teachers recruited under the government’s relevant policy is not sufficient to mitigate the shortfall. The memorandum demanded immediate posting of subject teachers to Miao educational block.
“The Government Higher Secondary School, Miao was established in 1979, and today the school is in a dilapidated condition,” the memorandum stated. It demanded urgent construction of a multistoried RCC school building with an auditorium, boundary wall, quarters for the principal, the vice principal and the teachers, and other infrastructure development.
The memorandum stated that a proposal in this regard was submitted to the secondary education director by GHSS Miao Principal Sekhum Ronrang in August 2024.
The SWO through the memorandum demanded a gurukul model school for the Singpho tribe and raised the issue of frequent instances of ragging and bullying in educational institutions.
“Ragging/bullying has become a grave concern with repeated instances of physical, verbal and psychological abuse and harassment creating unsafe learning environments in schools across the state,” the memorandum read, adding that these incidents are not only affecting students’ mental and emotional health but are also causing significant distress among their families.
The SWO demanded guidelines on the lines of the circular issued by the Changlang DC in this regard on 4 July, which is a first of its kind in the entire state and has garnered huge appreciation.
The SWO suggested conducting awareness programmes and workshops for students, teachers and parents on the dangers of bullying and the importance of fostering a respectful and inclusive school environment. It further sought implementing comprehensive anti-ragging/bullying policies for schools, with clear guideline and protocols for prevention and deterrence.
The SWO urged the minister to ensure proper regulation and adherence to guidelines by all residential and private schools, with accountability fixed in cases of violations.
The SWO said that the entire state has high hopes of seeing positive changes and development in the education sector under Sona. “We repose immense faith in you that the grievances and requests placed before you would be addressed,” the memorandum read.
While participating in the chintan shivir, Pinna Kitnal Singpho elaborated how students go through peer pressure with the current unhealthy and toxic environment where consumption of drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, gutkhas and other tobacco products and intoxicants have ruined the atmosphere.
Jairampur MLA Laisam Simai, ZPC Khumko Mossang, and district BJP president Roshan Ngemu, among others, also attended the event.
