Kohima: As many as 2,293 teachers in Nagaland on Thursday launched an indefinite protest demanding that their salaries be shifted to the state’s non-plan (non-development) expenditure head.
The agitation is being led by members of the Nagaland Government Teachers’ Association (NGTA), comprising educators from the 2010 and 2013 recruitment batches.
The protesting teachers assembled outside the Directorate of School Education (DoSE), asserting that despite being formally inducted into the State Education Cadre, their salaries are still being drawn under Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS) instead of the regular state budget head applicable to state cadre employees.
According to the association, the teachers were officially mainstreamed into the State Education Cadre through a government order dated September 2, 2022, with retrospective effect from April 21, 2022, following approval by the State Cabinet.
However, more than three years later, the salary structure has not been aligned with their cadre status, prompting sustained dissatisfaction.
The NGTA said it had submitted multiple representations over the years seeking inclusion of their salaries under the state’s non-development expenditure head.
After receiving no concrete response, the association served a seven-day ultimatum on February 16.
When the deadline passed without resolution, the teachers observed a two-day pen-down strike earlier this week before escalating the agitation into an indefinite protest.
In response, the School Education Department issued a clarification, explaining that the teachers were originally appointed against posts created under Centrally Sponsored Schemes such as the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) and the Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA), with salaries funded by the Government of India.
The department stated that since the original recruitment advertisements and appointment orders did not explicitly mention SSA/RMSA terms, the teachers later demanded full integration into the State School Education Cadre.
Considering that the recruitment process was conducted openly with clearances from the Personnel & Administrative Reforms and Finance Departments, and approved by the State Cabinet, 2,293 teachers who met the eligibility criteria under the Nagaland School Education Service Rules, 2017, were mainstreamed into the State Cadre on September 2, 2022.
The department further maintained that the mainstreamed teachers are currently receiving benefits under the 7th Revision of Pay (ROP), including scale pay and other entitlements, and are governed by the same service rules and instructions as regular state government employees.
On the demand for salary payment under the state account head, the department said that representations have been forwarded to the appropriate authorities, but clarified that the determination of the budget head is not within the discretion of employees.
It also informed that consultations were held on June 3 between the Adviser for School Education, officials from Samagra Shiksha, the Finance Department, and representatives of the teachers.
NGTA Dimapur Unit president Alemkala said the teachers were regular appointees from the beginning and had undergone formal recruitment processes, including written examinations and viva voce.
He said the teachers have been seeking parity with other state cadre teachers for over a decade and reiterated the demand for shifting their salary component from CSS to the state non-plan budget.
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NGTA Central Unit president Peihau Irangbe said the State Cabinet had, in principle, decided in October 2018 to induct the 2,293 teachers into the State Education Cadre, and that after fulfilling the required criteria, they were integrated with effect from April 1, 2022.
He added that being under CSS often leads to delays in fund release from the Centre, resulting in irregular salary payments.
He further pointed out that while the advertised posts were regular departmental posts, the “under CSS scheme” condition was inserted only in appointment letters, which, he said, created the present dispute.
“This is why we are demanding that our salaries be brought under the state non-plan head without any further delay,” he said.
The protest is expected to continue until the government provides a clear decision on the reclassification of the teachers’ salary budget head.
