It is relieve to many a parent that All Nagaland School Teachers’ Association and the Nagaland Secondary School Field Officers’ Federation suspended their agitation on June 5 after Assurance from the government that it will constitute a High Powered Committee within two weeks. The two organisations had started the strike on June 1 after their mass casual leave prior to it did not yield any result. However the matter is still not resolved since it will depend on the acceptance by the two organisations of any suggestive measures.
Since the last week of May there has been an open public debate on whether bifurcation is the answer to the current issues being faced by the teachers of the secondary and the elementary sections. Many other organisations from the same department and also concerned individuals took part in it and were published in all the newspapers of the state. The government, through the Minister of Education has categorically stated that bifurcation is not practical as it is against the National Education Policy. He indicated that it is against the interests of the students, against the policy of composite schools and a wasteful expenditure.
Even with the new committee, it is expected that bifurcation will not be discussed. There were suggestions that the higher secondary need to have a completely new department like some other states in India. However in the case of Nagaland, as the minister again confessed in another event that there is an excess of schools in the state, and so money for such an exercise is something which the government is not willing to discuss with limited resources in the state at present. The government is already over-burdened with the upkeep and maintenance of the existing excess schools.To be precise the Higher Secondary teachers are also subject teachers only but the status of being almost or equivalent to the College Professors may have set the wrong precedence. Therefore the image of being in a higher status than the Elementary/Secondary teachers though under the same roof with unequal distribution of work load may have really irked the secondary/elementary teachers. So, alluded in an earlier editorial in Eastern Mirror the Elementary/Secondary teachers and the Higher Secondary teachers need to find the middle path for the sake of the students. Teaching is a noble profession and as long as one is no matter who the audience it is but a profession that moulds the lives of many. It should not be an issue if the higher secondary teachers hereafter take classes of the 9th and 10th grades too. On the other hand as per reports, the vertical growth of both the cadres was restructured in 2011-12 with a very “unique” structure for the state with certain post reserved specifically for certain cadres. It resulted in posts lying vacant unable to filled. It is reported to be the major bone of contention between the Higher Secondary and the Secondary/Elementary teachers.
The committee when constituted has to set right the ommissions and commissions committed by the department concerned. The issues that are being made public also confirms that all is not well in the department. It is also an irony that with this debate raging on there are actually schools with no teachers where it is direly required and there are schools with teachers where it is not required with almost empty classrooms, then there are also reports of non-existent schools with teachers already appointed. Do we have the political will to tackle it once and for all ?
