[ Indu Chukhu ]
RONO HILLS, 15 Jun: Sixteen students from government schools in Kimin, Doimukh, RGU and Polo Colony took part in a reading competition organised by the Ngurang Learning Institute (NLI) here on Saturday.
The students were judged on the basis of their pronunciation, expression and eloquence within a timeframe of five minutes. Interestingly, only one among the 16 participants was a male.
GHSS Kimin Class 11 (Science) student Nangram Lily won the first prize in cash, while GHSS Doimukh Class 12 student Mahesh Saha won the second prize in cash.
All Nyishi Youth Association (ANYA) president Jamru Ruja, who attended the event as a guest, said that “nowadays it’s very rare to see people sharing their knowledge and ideas.
“It’s a competitive world, and nobody spares time to share one’s knowledge with others. You are lucky to have this privilege, so make the best use of it,” he said.
ANYA vice president Joram Byai also encouraged the students by sharing some life lessons.
Besides other ANYA members, its assistant general secretary Techi Epa also attended the programme.
The competition was judged by RGU English Department Assistant Professors Dr Doyir Ete and Dr Bompi Riba.
“Reading books helps us in many ways. We can have a choice of opinion on what career we can choose in life. It shapes us in many ways,” Dr Ete said.
Dr Riba stressed on how reading is a form of exercise for the brain, and said that “one can get rid of many mental ailments, such as Alzheimer’s illness and dementia, through reading.”
A student of GHSS Kimin said, “This was my first time participating in a reading competition. The speakers motivated us to read, and I look forward to taking reading seriously.”
Another student said, “We got to learn many things today, and we look forward to many such events.”
NLI chairperson Ngurang Meena said that “I as a teacher in a government school want to encourage my students to write and construct proper sentences,so that they can write better in examinations.
We had organised a reading competition in 2022, and the NLI started the library movement in the state in 2020.”
The NLI was founded in 2014 by Ngurang Meena and her sister Ngurang Reena. It garnered accolades at the 78th United Nations General Assembly session in New York in September 2023.
The NLI, along with 17 other organisations that met the sustainable development goals (SDG) was selected to be included in a book titled Ideas, Innovation, Implementation: India’s Journey towards the SDGs.
The NLI was selected under the SDGs’ ‘education and gender equality goal’ category.
