No respite from salary crisis for over 2,000 teachers in Nagaland

• DIMAPUR — Three years after being officially integrated into the Nagaland state education cadre, teachers from the 2010 and 2013 batches say they continue to face the same problem they hoped to leave behind—irregular salaries.
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• Represented by the Nagaland Government Teachers’ Association (NGTA – 2010 & 2013 Batches), the group has called for immediate government intervention to address the issue.
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• In a statement issued on Thursday, the NGTA said, “Nearly three years after our mainstreaming into the State Cadre, we continue to face the same distressing issue: months-long salary delays with no resolution in sight.”
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• According to the association, 2,293 teachers were officially integrated into the State Cadre through Cabinet approval on April 21, 2022 (No. CAB-2/2013 dated 21.04.2022), and formalised through a department of School Education notification (No. DSE/SSA-RMSA/COM/18-86/2021) on September 2 of the same year.
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• The move was “intended to ensure stability, dignity, and equal treatment for long-serving educators,” previously appointed under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) and Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA).
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• As fully integrated members of the State Cadre, the NGTA said that their salaries should be drawn from the non-plan fund, just like those of other State Cadre teachers who are typically paid by the first week of the month.
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• Instead, persistent delays continue to cause severe financial hardship and emotional distress, it said.
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• Speaking to Eastern Mirror, a teacher from Zunheboto district, who requested anonymity, shared how the ongoing salary crisis is impacting their lives.
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• “I took out a loan before and my CIBIL score has been badly affected while the interest keeps compounding,” said the teacher who has four children—one each in college and higher secondary school and the other two in high school.
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• The teacher added that even short-term needs like children’s admissions and monthly fees force them to borrow money from well-wishers, often at interest.

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• While a government employee can only make three withdrawals from their pension (National Pension Scheme), the teacher said that they have already made two withdrawals to stay afloat, because of the inconsistency in salary disbursement.
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• Furthermore, there is no privacy when it comes to salary disbursements. “Everyone knows when we are supposed to get salary. We cannot keep it a secret,” the teacher said, adding that the visibility of their financial instability often leads to uncomfortable comparisons with other state employees who are paid on time.
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• In Mokokchung district, Sentila Ao, posted at Liden Government Primary School, noted the irony for unpaid teachers like herself, to be marking their attendance daily on the state’s Smile App, while their own lives “crumble under the weight of neglect.”
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• The Smile (Smart Attendance Management and Informative Leaves) App is a digital attendance tracking system implemented in Nagaland to enhance accountability among teachers in government schools.
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• She explained that many teachers live in rented homes and are barely able to manage groceries or medical expenses for family members. “Even groceries are bought on hope, with shopkeepers’ trust thinning with each passing day...It is a relentless tug-of-war between duty and despair.”
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• Noting that many teachers working in remote areas are struggling with “household expenses, pending loan EMIs, and their children’s education,” the NGTA asserted that this delay stands in “direct contradiction to the goals of mainstreaming,” and is “significantly impacting morale and dedication.”
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• “Teachers who once entered classrooms with pride now do so with a growing sense of betrayal. The message is unmistakable: our service is essential, but our well-being is not a priority,” it said.
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• Describing the issue as “no longer just an administrative lapse but a violation of the government’s commitment to its educators,” the NGTA said it was disheartened to witness educators who are considered as “the cornerstones of our society,” reduced to financial insecurity and emotional exhaustion due to systemic neglect.
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• “We have submitted letters, made representations, and waited with patience and dignity. Yet, our pleas have been met with silence and no tangible results.”
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• Warning of wider implications for education delivery and public trust, the association stated, “This continued neglect threatens not only the welfare of teachers but also the quality of education, the smooth functioning of schools, and public trust in the education system.”
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• Among its key demands, the NGTA called for immediate disbursement of all pending salaries and timely and consistent monthly salary payments going forward.
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• It also demanded the inclusion of salaries under the State Non-Plan Fund to ensure parity with other State Cadre teachers and the “recognition of their rights, dignity, and long-standing service.”
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• The NGTA cautioned that if the issue remains unresolved, “we may be compelled to consider peaceful and constructive forms of protest to assert our rights and safeguard the welfare of our community.”