Staff Reporter

ITANAGAR, 27 Aug: The All Nyishi Students' Union (ANSU) and its 22 branch students' unions (BSUs) on Wednesday called for a renewed culture of belongingness, discipline and collective ownership of schools in Nyishi-inhabited areas.

At a joint session held at DK Convention Centre here on the theme 'My School, My Pride - A Call for Belongingness, Sensibility & a Responsible Generation', the ANSU and its BSUs reviewed the findings of a survey covering over 500 schools.

"The survey pointed to a weakening sense of belonging, discipline, moral values and collective ownership, reflected in destruction of school property, poor maintenance, encroachment on school land and lack of emotional attachment to institutions," the union stated in a release.

Recalling the ANSU's founding principle, 'Each One, Teach One', the union stated that said schools in the Nyishi belt were earlier treated as shared community institutions, built and maintained through collective labour of students, teachers, parents and villagers. It noted that this culture is now fading.

"A school is far more than a building," the ANSU observed, adding that "damaging classrooms, desks, toilets, or gardens undermines a public asset meant for future generations."

The ANSU and the BSUs urged the teachers to take greater ownership and nurture discipline, respect and moral values, noting that true education must produce responsible citizens, not just results.

The ANSU and the BSUs reaffirmed their role as catalysts for change and called for awareness campaigns, cleanliness and school-protection drives, programmes on collective ownership, and mobilisation against encroachment and damage to public property.

"A responsible student does not ask, 'Who will protect my school?' A responsible student declares, 'My school is my responsibility'," the ANSU stated.

The house resolved to submit a comprehensive representation to the state government based on the survey. The representation will highlight critical issues and pressing needs identified in more than 100 schools in the first phase, and seek government intervention for improvement in education quality and school infrastructure.

The ANSU said safeguarding education is a collective responsibility and a shared investment in the community's future. The message that emerged from the joint session was 'My School. My Pride. My Responsibility', the ANSU said.