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GUWAHATI, SEP 5: Around 330 people, accused of being involved in various fraudulent activities, including impersonating police personnel, have been arrested in a special operation since early Saturday, DGP Harmeet Singh said. He said the crackdown was underway and the number of arrests would increase. Some of the suspects have been traced outside Assam, including cities like Hyderabad and Bengaluru, and they will also be brought under the police net soon. “Around 330 people, accused of being involved in various fraudulent activities, have been arrested in a crackdown since early Saturday,” the director general of police said. Singh said those arrested were involved in various frauds, like luring people with the promise of settling police cases or impersonating police officials, and threatening people over the phone and extracting money. “The police have been working against these frauds. This special crackdown is being carried out as per the instructions of the chief minister,” he added. (Source: PTI)      

KOHIMA, SEP 5: Nagaland has emerged as the third most literate state in the country with a literacy rate of 95.7 per cent, Advisor School Education and SCERT, Dr Kekhrielhoulie Yhome said on Saturday. Addressing the state-level Teachers’ Day celebration at the local ground in Kohima, Yhome attributed the remarkable transformation in the high literacy rate largely to the contribution of teachers, saying the achievement would not have been possible without their sustained efforts. “When Nagaland got statehood in 1963, the literacy rate was among the lowest at 21.95 per cent. Today, it is the third most literate state in the country, only behind Kerala and Mizoram, with 95.7 per cent,” Yhome said. He described the progress as a significant achievement for a relatively young society and thanked teachers for not only improving lives through education but also imparting lifelong lessons. Yhome said 32,714 teachers serving across government and private schools in Nagaland are currently engaged in educating the state’s children. He said their contribution was particularly significant given the difficult geographical and working conditions faced by many teachers across the state. Describing teaching as one of the “most noble professions”, he said teachers impart the same love and care to their students as they would to their own children. “The reward they get is how their children fare in life,” he said, emphasising that the success of students remains the greatest source of satisfaction for teachers. Yhome said the state government is working towards transforming Nagaland’s school education system around three key pillars — infrastructure, human resources and curriculum. On infrastructure, he acknowledged that inadequate facilities remain a major challenge in both government and private schools, including the absence of basic amenities such as toilets in some schools, particularly affecting girl students. He said infrastructure would be progressively improved through developmental projects. The second pillar, he said, would focus on teacher training, human resource management, improved coordination between schools and field offices, and stronger administration and governance. The government also intends to bring greater personalisation to the school system through a stronger school feeder system, he said. The third and “perhaps most important” pillar would be the introduction of a world-class education system through curriculum redesign and innovative approaches aimed at preparing students for the demands of the 21st century, he said. Yhome said the education system must evolve to prepare Gen Z, Gen Alpha and future generations for a rapidly changing world, stressing the need to equip students with global 21st-century skills. “We are building a generation of leadership, and that comes through our school ecosystem,” he said. He also highlighted achievements by Naga students and institutions as evidence of the potential to compete at national and international levels. Yhome said the government’s broader objective was to nurture generations capable of becoming “world-class” and competing with the best internationally. The Advisor also congratulated Government Higher Secondary School, Sechu Zubza, for producing teacher R Ronald Meru, who received the National Teachers’ Award in New Delhi on Saturday, saying his selection among teachers from across the country was a matter of pride for Nagaland. The state-level Teachers’ Day celebration was organised by the School Education Department, Government of Nagaland. Altogether, 12 teachers from government and private institutions were honoured with awards for their dedication to the profession and their students. The programme also featured the presentation of the School Safety Excellence Award. Teachers’ Day is observed annually on September 5 to commemorate the birth anniversary of Dr S Radhakrishnan and recognise the contribution of teachers to society and nation-building. Meanwhile, the state government has declared September 7 a holiday for all educational institutions in honour of teachers. (Source: PTI)    

GUWAHATI, SEP 5: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday welcomed the United Nations for designating November 27 as International Day for the Elimination of Child, Early and Forced Marriage, maintaining it was an affirmation of this northeastern state’s firm steps against underage weddings. He also said that the designation of the date coincides with the Assam government announcing an “unapologetic campaign” against child and forced marriages, continuing its crackdown against it. “Even the UN now agrees to what we in Assam have been saying and professing since our last term — child or forced marriage has no place in our society and needs to be cracked down upon,” Sarma said in a post on X. He maintained that the declaration of November 27 as International Day for Elimination of Child, Early and Forced Marriage will act as a global support for eliminating the vice, he said and shared a copy of the UN announcement with his post. The chief minister said the state government’s efforts against the vice in the past few years have led to over 12,000 cases being registered, more than 11,000 arrests and an 81 per cent drop in child marriages across 20 districts, along with drastic reductions in teenage pregnancies and increases in female higher education enrollment. “Coincidentally, we had already announced that in the month of November, we will be taking up an unapologetic campaign against child and forced marriage and bring all the perpetrators to justice, securing the future of our daughters,” he said. Sarma said the UN declaration shows that Assam’s efforts were never in isolation; it was about eliminating a crime which is a global problem. “Assam’s fight against child marriage ignited a national narrative, and now carries the weight of global recognition. Our commitment remains unchanged — a society free of child marriage,” he added. The Assam government had launched its intensified crackdown against child marriage in 2023, during the first term of Sarma as chief minister. (Source: PTI)    

IMPHAL, SEP 5: Manipur Congress Legislature Party leader Keisham Meghachandra Singh on Saturday said the BJP government has not come up with a roadmap to restore peace and normalcy in the strife-torn state. The opposition leader’s comment comes after state Home Minister Govindas Konthoujam said in the assembly that the ethnic conflict which erupted in May 2023 between the valley-based Meitei and the hill-based Kuki communities has claimed at least 306 lives, with 49 individuals remaining missing. Speaking to reporters, the Congress leader alleged, “There is no roadmap for the restoration of peace so far. There is no concrete plan from the state government.” Singh vowed to continue his fight to ensure justice for the violence-hit people in the state. “Day before yesterday, there was a lot of hue and cry in the state assembly while discussing restoration of normalcy and demand for NRC in the state,” he said. Manipur had recently witnessed protests over demand for updating the National Register of Citizens (NRC) before the commencement of census exercise. The Centre had on Monday deferred the census operations in the northeastern state, considering the demand by civil society organisations. Singh said Congress MLAs have been seeking discussion on the core issues of the state in the assembly. “People’s demand for 1951 as the base year for NRC has been denied by the BJP government,” he alleged. (Source: PTI)