All Nagaland Government Primary Teachers’ Association questions ‘No work, no pay’ order, citing unreliable digital attendance system, technical glitches and unresolved teachers’ grievances.
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DIMAPUR — The All Nagaland Government Primary Teachers’ Association (ANGPTA) has raised concerns over the implementation of “No work, no pay” policy by the Directorate of School Education, questioning the fairness of enforcing salary deductions based solely on digital attendance records.
In a representation submitted to the principal director of School Education, the association said the office order directing enforcement of the policy with effect from February 1, 2026 has caused “deep concern among the teaching community of Nagaland.”
The directive refers to the implementation of the “No work, no pay” policy as per government OM No. AR-13/5/89 dated September 5, 1994.
The ANGPTA stated that the order appeared to have been implemented without any proper physical verification of attendance, raising concerns that the decision was based solely on digital data whose reliability is “widely disputed.”
The association noted that the order did not mention any field verification or inquiry prior to imposing salary deductions, which it said was troubling for teachers whose livelihoods depend on their monthly salaries.
It also questioned what it described as selective administrative urgency, stating that while the directorate had acted swiftly in implementing salary deductions, several long-pending issues affecting teachers remain unresolved.
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These include regularisation of ad hoc teachers, salary backlogs of CSS Hindi teachers, delayed payments under SSA and RMSA, long-pending arrears, and administrative delays in service-related matters.
The ANGPTA also raised concerns about the reliance on the TAMS SMILE App used for monitoring attendance in schools, describing the system as unreliable.
According to the association, teachers across the state have reported frequent technical glitches preventing attendance marking, failures in synchronising data with the central server, malfunctioning tablets issued by the department, and data inconsistencies despite teachers marking attendance correctly.
It said that despite repeated complaints and visits to the TAMS branch, many of these issues remain unresolved.
The association further pointed to network connectivity problems in many parts of the state, particularly in rural and interior areas, where weak or unstable internet connections often prevent attendance data from syncing with the server.
“Ignoring these ground realities while relying solely on digital records for salary deductions reflects a lack of practical understanding of the conditions under which teachers work,” the association stated.
It also noted that the implementation of the policy beginning February coincided with a period when teachers across the state had raised grievances over long-standing administrative issues, which it said created the impression that the move was intended to discourage teachers from raising concerns.
While stating that discipline and accountability are important in public institutions, the association called on the department of School Education to reconsider the implementation of the policy and address the underlying issues, including technical problems with the attendance system and unresolved administrative matters.