Dimapur, Aug. 22 (EMN): Nagaland education department is in the news again, and this time too, for the wrong reasons. The Nagaland RMSA Teachers Association 2016 batch (or NRMSATA 2016) on Wed. accused the state government of ‘betrayal’ in connection with an office memorandum (OM) regarding deduction in their salary and sought immediate revocation of the office memo dated the 17th of August which directed the teachers to sign a bond and accept a reduced salary.
A press release issued by the NRMSATA 2016 President, Sao Venuh and General Secretary, Haisoliabe Ndang, while narrating the whole sequence of event, stated that a tripartite consultative meeting was called by the principal secretary, school education comprising of NRMSATA executives, RMSA officials and the government of Nagaland represented by the principal secretary on Aug. 20.
It stated that, in the meeting, the principal secretary and the mission director of RMSA maintained that the controversial office memorandum notifying the reduction of “RMSA Teachers salary of 6315/- basing on the Directive from the MHRD following the merger of SSA and RMSA” into Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) was “unofficial” and assured the association that “their best efforts would be given to ensure that the teachers’ salary is not reduced.
“However, the very next day i.e. 21st August 2018, contrary to their statement, RMSA Teachers from different districts were served the OM which was dated the 17th of August and were asked to personally go to their respective DEOs and sign the bond agreement for accepting the reduced salary with the threat that their services will be terminated if not accepted within a month’s time,” the release stated.
Strongly condemning, what it termed as, “such betrayal policy by the government, the release sought clarification from the government “on their statement through press media” and also sought immediate revocation of the office memorandum.
Also while reaffirming its earlier stand on the ‘inhumane office memorandum’, the association asserted that it will never accept the reduced salary at any point time and warned all its members to refrain from signing the bond agreement and said that the members who sign it would be doing so at their own risk.
Besides, questioning why the office memorandum was served only to RMSA 2016 batch if it is based on the merger policy into Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan, the association pointed out that according to the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan Draft Document, ‘it is clearly mentioned that the salary structure will be determined by the state norms for salaries and all teachers are ultimately and responsibility of the state.
Therefore, the association asserted that all teachers recruited through the same mode of appointment i.e. through ‘free and fair’ competitive exam should be given equal treatment regardless of the year of appointment or erstwhile scheme,” the release stated.
