Kohima: Nagaland’s School Education Advisor Kekhrielhoulie Yhome on Friday urged RMSA-2016 teachers to resume classes as their agitation demanding regularisation of services entered its 10th day.
Speaking at a press conference in Kohima, Yhome said it was disheartening to see government school children deprived of teachers.
He pointed out that the matter is currently sub judice and appealed to the teachers to wait for the court’s verdict.
“It pains me to see that children in government schools are left without teachers. These students belong to the most underprivileged sections of society, and their academic growth is being severely hampered,” Yhome added.
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 stated 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 explained that the 367 agitating teachers were appointed under centrally sponsored schemes on a purely contractual basis, which included termination clauses, absence of entitlement to scale pay, and bonds signed with their 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.
Yhome emphasized that despite financial constraints, the state government has been covering the gap left by reduced central funding to ensure teachers’ salaries are paid. He noted that education already consumes nearly 9 per cent of the state budget, with the majority allocated to salaries.
Yhome urged the Naga Students’ Federation (NSF), which had offered to mediate, to allow the matter to follow due legal and administrative process.
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“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 added.
Yhome, along with senior officials, visited the protest site and requested the teachers to join the proposed committee and call off their agitation.
