Nagaland govt urges protesting teachers to return to schools, wait for court order

Kohima, Sep 19 (PTI) Nagaland's School Education Advisor Kekhrielhoulie Yhome on Friday appealed to RMSA-2016 teachers to return to their classrooms as their agitation demanding regularisation of services entered the 10th day.

Addressing a press conference in Kohima, Yhome said it breaks his heart to see that children in government schools are left without teachers.

Noting that the matter is at present sub judice, he urged the teachers to wait for the court's verdict.

"It breaks my heart that children in our government schools are left without teachers. These students come from the poorest sections of our society, and their academic progress is being affected," Yhome said.

He stressed that the government was not averse to implementing the court's eventual order and reiterated that due process and financial implications must be carefully considered.

Yhome asserted that the committee set up by the government will proceed with or without the participation of the teachers, as it has been tasked with studying the matter in detail and recommending a solution.

He said the 367 agitating teachers were appointed under centrally sponsored schemes on purely contractual terms, which included termination clauses, no right to scale pay, and bonds signed with prior consent.

He pointed out that among 5,058 teachers under central schemes in Nagaland, only a section of the (Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan) RMSA-2016 batch has taken the matter to court.

While others are drawing Rs 25,000 per month, the agitating teachers get Rs 31,315, he said.

"What they are essentially asking for is full employment under the Government of Nagaland," he stated.

Yhome maintained that the state government has been supplementing reduced central funding to ensure salaries are paid despite financial strain, noting that education already accounts for nearly 9 per cent of the state budget, most of which is spent on salaries.

"Solutions will have financial implications, but the government is strong enough to consider their case. What they are asking is reasonable, but it requires meticulous understanding," he added.

Yhome urged the Naga Students’ Federation (NSF), which had offered to mediate, to allow the matter to follow due legal and administrative process.

"As their advisor, I want the best for them, but they must also understand how government functions. The solution will come, but in the meantime, let us not abandon our students," he appealed.

Yhome, along with senior officials, visited the protest site and requested the teachers to join the proposed committee and call off their agitation.

However, RMSA-2016 batch spokesperson Renbemo L Patton told PTI that the teachers have unanimously conveyed to the advisor that they would not accept any proposal unless a workable solution is formulated.

He said the teachers would intensify their agitation from Monday. PTI NBS NBS SOM