The incident at a private school in Mokokchung as reported in Eastern Mirror on Sunday was cramped with actions that would be considered as acts of overstepping on part of all those involved, if one has to go by the initial reports. Till the writing of this piece there has been neither further clarification nor any reported progress on the issue at hand. According to the report published on Sunday, two teachers were terminated from their service on the ensuing days to the incident. The two were among the group of teachers who were earlier served caution letters for not attending the morning devotional service at the school. This led to the students getting involved which, in turn, had also the parents getting involved. The parents had served a memorandum to the school authorities to reinstate the teachers.
The action of the school authorities may not have been in tune with certain basic employer-employee contract of appointment as is prevalent in most of the private establishments in the state. The action of the authorities of terminating the said teachers before the last date when they were supposed to file their reply does bring up some suspicion of premeditated actions. But still on face value it is to be considered as an internal issue between the teachers and the authorities, and the aggrieved teachers can seek reprieve from any other body/office that has jurisdiction in such matters.
The students getting directly involved in such matters is actually beyond their duty. The matter is directly between the teachers and the school authorities. Though the teachers have their Rights, the students playing attorneys in the court of the school administration is a little too skewed even for our Naga system of justice and arbitration.
The parents of the students have priorities in the schools where their children study and it is the academic excellence of their children that comes first. The action of the parents may be directly linked to the academics of their children that may have prompted their actions. But the action of the parents demanding to reinstate the teachers and summoning the school authorities and the teaching staff for a joint meeting is also a bit off the limit.
It’s everyone’s wish that such matters should not be prolonged so as not to affect the students in their academics and should be resolved at the earliest. But the recent happenings in the state where it has become free for all to get involved in all the issues, this incident is also another of such instances. Such issues should be resolved before it reaches the eyes and ears of the media since it becomes costly for all concerned; the school, the teachers and the students along with their parents.
