Photo Courtesy: nagalandpost
Kohima: Advisor for school education Dr. Kekhrielhoulie Yhome promised immediate stopgap measures to fix teacher shortages at Government Higher Secondary School in Wokha district. The school serves 153 students from classes IV to XII. Academic progress stalled because two subject teachers are on maternity leave. The English teacher will return next week. The directorate remained unaware of the Political Science teacher's absence until recently. Yhome noted this gap highlights a breakdown in communication between the school and his office.
Yhome addressed wider demands from the community during a press briefing in Kohima on Thursday. He stated that some requests exceed current department capacity. The school currently employs seven multi-tasking staff and one carpentry instructor. Yhome questioned the need for more help in those specific roles. He also spoke on the difficulty of finding qualified Lotha language teachers.
The department surveyed primary teachers to fill these gaps. Roughly 427 educators expressed interest in switching to language instruction. Yhome insists that tribal identity is not enough for the classroom. He said, "Tribal identity or the ability to speak a mother tongue alone could not qualify someone to teach the language." Literacy in the language is a requirement.
The department is working with literature boards to build formal certification programs. For now, the Hindi teacher at the Wokha school will teach Lotha. That teacher has the required proficiency in speaking, reading, and writing the language. Yhome plans to keep pushing for mother-tongue education under a strict academic framework.
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