Dimapur: In Nagaland, only 30.4 per cent of the students in the age group of 14 to 18 years can do simple division as against national average of 43.1 per cent, adviser to the Nagaland school education department, K.T. Sukhalu, said on Wednesday.

Quoting the annual education status report 2017, he also said only 37.7 per cent of the students in the state can do calculation and evaluation compared to national average of 50 per cent.

Sukhalu said it was disheartening to note the poor performance of students of the state, especially in maths and science. He was speaking at the state-level Teachers' Day celebration at Nagaland Baptist Church Council Convention Centre in Kohima.

He added that a teacher's job was not to finish a textbook but to help the student understand the meaning. He said the teachers need to give the context of the subjects to their students because the subject matter is the foundation on which students will build their worldview and make their career and life choices.

Sukhalu also appealed to the teachers not to shame the students who give wrong answers and instead appreciate their courage in answering out loud because education is successful when the students begin to question what they are taught.

He asked the teachers to be fair in their treatment of students. He said the issue of tribe, language, religion, race and food habits should never be a ground to treat students differentially because the things they see in the classroom will stay with them for life and they will remember the example the teachers have set. He requested the teachers to resume their duties by joining their assigned schools without delay. He asked them to submit their Aadhaar number to the department without further delay to link with the biometric system.