Eastern Mirror Desk
Dimapur, Sep. 5: Even as the teaching community all over the country are being honoured on the occasion of the 57th Teacher’s Day on Wednesday, it was a sad day for 639 teachers serving in 146 government high schools who were recruited under the Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) in 2016. The teachers under the aegis of NRMSATA 2016 batch teachers hace been boycotting classes since Aug. 27 against an Office Memorandum (OM) which directed the teachers to accept a reduced pay.
The RMSA 2016 batch teachers have taken their discontentment in the form of agitation in Kohima-which would have coincided with Teacher’s Day, if it was not called off by the Nagaland RMSA Teachers’ Association (NRMSATA) as a mark of respect to the teachers’.
The NRMSATA 2016 had converged in Kohima on Sept. 4 from across the state for the agitation which was termed as unlawful by the administration.
“The association had sought permission from the district administration but was denied on the directives of the govt. on the claim that they had deposited the pending salary of the RMSA 2016 batch teachers”, said NRMSATA 2016 batch president Sao Venuh.
“However, unless our salaries are credited in our account, we will not accept their justification”, he said.
“Even after our permission for agitation was denied, the association went ahead with the peaceful sit-in putting in our energy on Sept. 4.
We came and voice out what we were supposed to do and made our points clear. The most crucial issue is for revocation of OM and the reason behind our agitation was for the govt. to revoke the OM which directs for deduction of salary”, affirmed Sao.
Venuh, speaking with Eastern Mirror through telephone on the eve of Teacher’s Day, said it was unfortunate that the RMSA 2016 batch teachers had to resort to such means as the teachers are helpless and are compelled to do so, to send a message to the authorities, to demand for their rights.
‘Respecting the auspicious day and we as teachers decided not to take our agitation on Sept. 5 but have sought permission to continue after Sept. 5 which the association was yet to be granted’, communicated Venuh.
“As teachers we want to observe the day with our colleagues, along with the state teaching fraternity and the students’ and we are also not contented that we have to miss an auspicious day.
But it was a crucial time for the teachers at this juncture to demand our rights”, lamented Venuh.
“It was the first time, since our appointment, that we are missing Teacher’s Day. Although it does not make us happy, we have become an object of uncertainty with an uncertainty employment”, Venuh asserted.
