Nagaland RMSA 2016 teachers demand equal treatment, again

DIMAPUR — The Nagaland RMSA 2016 batch teachers have once again called on the state government to provide equal treatment and pay parity.

In a statement issued on Saturday, the teachers highlighted what they described as discriminatory policies that differentiate benefits based on the year of recruitment.

“Many a time we have been told that we are graduate teachers, but since we were recruited under a centrally sponsored scheme, we are not entitled to the provisions of regular graduate teachers,” the statement read.

The teachers argued that the government’s approach—segregating the same scheme of teachers into different batches with differing entitlements—appears intentional and sets a “dangerous precedent.”

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They stated that their current fixed salary of INR 31,315, unchanged for nearly a decade, violates guidelines laid down by the Ministry of Human Resource Development, which call for unified teaching cadres.

The teachers once again remained that the RMSA was introduced to fill gaps left by the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) in secondary education and to ensure equitable access for rural and marginalised students. The 2016 batch teachers were recruited through open advertisements, written exams, and interviews when 112 government middle schools were upgraded to high schools in 2013.

While the bond signed by the teachers has been invalidated by the court, they stated that their repeated requests for fair treatment have been ignored.

They questioned why some batches have been regularised while others remain on fixed pay and urged the state government to follow RMSA guidelines fully.