Dr Kekhrielhoulie Yhome with the officials of school education department and NGHSSEA during NGHSSEA General Conference held in Kohima on August 22. (Morung Photo)
Infrastructure, governance and curriculum to be transformed
Our Correspondent
Kohima | August 22
Nagaland School Education Advisor Dr Kekhrielhoulie Yhome announced a major restructuring of the government school system, including the creation of more composite schools, rationalisation of schools, curriculum reforms and measures to address stagnation in the promotion of teachers and administrators.
Addressing the Nagaland Government Higher Secondary School Employees Association (NGHSSEA) General Conference here on the theme “Catalyzing Educational Transformation” on August 22, the Advisor said, on infrastructure, development would continue in phases, while stressing that the government was working towards improving the overall school environment.
On governance, Dr Yhome said reforms would cover service matters, human resource management, transfer and posting mechanisms and the functioning of the Directorate and district-level administration.
He said a School Leadership Academy had also been established to strengthen leadership among headmasters and assistant headmasters.
The third pillar would focus on redesigning the curriculum and making government schools more competitive with private schools, he added, while stressing the need to make government schools more attractive to students and parents.
It was disclosed that the department was working with various organisations through CSR-supported initiatives, including project-based learning, socio-emotional learning and Saturday Art Classes.
He said the Saturday Art Classes would also incorporate emerging areas such as animation, videography, gaming and AI-related applications.
He further announced that the government is planning to sign an MoU with Google on August 28 to strengthen the school ecosystem and improve preparedness for digital education and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics).
The Advisor also highlighted collaborations with Yamaha International on music education and said that efforts were underway to expand such initiatives across government schools.
More composite schools, rationalisation planned
The Advisor said the department currently had only 21 composite schools and planned to convert more higher secondary schools into composite schools wherever feasible.
He said experience had shown that schools offering education from the elementary level through higher secondary tended to attract more students because parents wanted continuity of education up to matriculation.
The department, he said, would also rationalise schools in rural areas by downgrading poor performing high schools and reshaping school networks according to geographical requirements. The government would undertake consultations with stakeholders before implementing the proposed changes, with the reforms expected to take effect from the next academic year.
He informed that overall enrolment across the three streams in government higher secondary schools had declined by 481 students in 2026 compared to 2025, from 6,475 students.
Teacher appointments and promotions
On teacher appointments, Dr Yhome said the government had not made appointments at the graduate and primary levels since he took charge of the department because of surplus personnel in certain categories.
He, however, said there were shortages in strategic areas such as mathematics, science and postgraduate teachers.
He told the conference that 70 more postgraduate teachers were expected to join after the NPSC oral interview, with another 30 positions in the pipeline.
Addressing the long-standing issue of stagnation among teachers and administrators, Dr Yhome said the department was examining ways to ensure fair career progression and compensation even where promotional posts were limited.
The government was examining the possibility of adopting mechanisms similar to the Centre's non-functional upgradation system, under which employees could receive the financial benefits due to them even when promotional vacancies were unavailable, he added.
It was reported that the department was examining issues surrounding the promotion of secondary teachers and administrators and expressed hope that promotions could be expedited after identifying the relevant government orders and rules.
Review school structure and administration
The Advisor said the department had gathered data for the current year and would undertake a major review of the school structure, including the closure or abandonment of some schools where necessary.
He said the objective was not merely to reduce schools but to reshape the education system according to enrolment, geography, available resources and future requirements.
Dr Yhome appealed to teachers and school employees to cooperate with the reform process, saying that the government was seeking to strengthen the Directorate and the overall school administration.
He also assured teachers that the government was not seeking to victimize them or obstruct their career progression, but wanted to address longstanding structural problems in the education system.
“We are taking decisions which will make us all strong,” Dr Yhome said, while calling for patience and collective effort in rebuilding Nagaland's government school system.
Later, Dr Yhome launched a statistical report on GHSS in Nagaland and academic performance in the HSSLC examinations, brought out by NGHSSEA.
Presently, 57 existing Government Higher Second Schools in Nagaland has 56 arts stream including 16 and 5 commerce streams respectively.
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