GMS Rumesinyu: Enriching students, one step at a time

May 25, 2024 18 Views No Comment

Rumesinyu, May 25 (MExN): Thirty kilometres away from the district headquarter Tseminyu, is the village of Rumesinyu, and catering to the educational needs of its children is the Government Middle School Rumesinyu.

In 2022, GMS Rumesinyu was among the first batch to be selected for the Performance Incentive Grant (PIG). PIG under Nagaland Education Project- The Lighthouse NECTAR empowers the School Management Committee (SMC) and School Management and Development Committee (SMDC) to plan and execute various school improvement activities based on their specific needs.

The Communications Team of the Nagaland Education Project – The Lighthouse (NECTAR) issued a press report, highlighting several initiatives taken by the SMC for improving learning practices and enhancing the learning environment, as part of one of the main mandates of the PIG.

In 2023, when the Communication Team of NECTAR Project visited the school to record classroom transactions for the Teach Tool, it was highlighted that, despite the close proximity, a majority of the students never had the opportunity to visit the state capital Kohima and the commercial hub of Dimapur.

Mid-Day Meal serving table contributed by the teaches and SMC members.

As such, the SMC, teachers, and parents pooled in resources and sponsored an exposure trip to Dimapur for the students of Classes 2 to 6 on February 19 and 20, 2024. The students visited the Piphema Students’ Union Children Park, Dimapur Railway Station, Kachari Ruins, the Science Centre, and the shopping area at New Market, Bata Charali, and Hong Kong Market in Dimapur.

The group spent the night at GCYM in Sovima, a Christian mission centre that provided free lodging. To minimise expenditure, the students brought their own rice, while the vegetables were bought with the collective fund. On their way back, the group visited Highland Park in Kohima for a lunch break.

Water pump donated by the VDB and Village Council.

Highlighting the significance of the trip, Kenyushwe Kemp, the Head Teacher shared, “The students study about so many things in their textbook, like the train station, the hustle and bustle of cities, commercial areas like shopping malls, and also about ancient history. So, to connect their text book and what they study with the real world, we undertook the exposure trip.”

To include the Pre-Primary students as well, the parents and teachers also collected a small amount and took the Pre-Primary students to Nsonji Lake, about an hour’s drive from Rumesinyu, for an outing since they could not be taken to Dimapur.

Besides facilitating the exposure trip, GMS Rumesinyu is also utilising PIG to support community-driven solutions to its problems. Owing to its location on a hilltop, the school had been facing the issue of water scarcity. Recognising the difficulty faced by the school, the village council stepped in and contributed a water pump, which helped in addressing the crisis.

The teachers and SMC members also contributed money to construct a Mid-Day meal serving table.