Nagaland School Education department says salary head decisions rest with state, responds to agitation by SSA and RMSA teachers.
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DIMAPUR — The Nagaland School Education department on Wednesday clarified that it is not within the prerogative of state employees to determine the budget head from which their salaries are drawn, in response to the ongoing agitation by mainstreamed Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) and Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) teachers of the 2010 and 2013 batches over salary-related grievances.
In a press release, the department said the SSA and RMSA teachers of the 2010 and 2013 batches were initially appointed against posts created under the Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS) of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan, with their salaries met from funds sanctioned by the government of India.
It stated that since the recruitment advertisements and appointment orders did not specify that the appointments were under SSA/RMSA on CSS terms, the teachers later demanded mainstreaming into the State School Education Cadre. Considering that they were recruited through an open recruitment process with the clearance of the Personnel & Administrative Reforms (P&AR) and Finance departments, and with the approval of the state Cabinet, a total of 2,293 teachers who fulfilled the criteria under the Nagaland School Education Service Rules, 2017 were mainstreamed into the State Cadre on September 2, 2022.
Also read: Salary row: Nagaland Government Teachers’ Association to begin democratic protest from February 26
The department maintained that the mainstreamed teachers are presently enjoying the 7th Revision of Pay (ROP), along with scale pay and other entitlements, and are governed by the same government instructions applicable to regular state government employees.
According to the release, the demand raised by the 2010 and 2013 batch teachers is that their salaries be drawn from the State Account Head under the Non-Plan Budget. Representations submitted in this regard have been taken up with the authorities concerned, it said.
The department also informed that the advisor for School Education, along with officers from Samagra Shiksha, the School Education and the Finance departments, held consultations with the group of teachers on June 3, 2025 to discuss their concerns.
Reiterating its position, the department stated that while the state government is making efforts to ensure timely release of salaries and provision of the necessary budget, it is not within the prerogative of state employees to decide the head of account from which their salaries are to be drawn.
The clarification was issued on the same day the Nagaland Government Teachers’ Association (NGTA) of the 2010 and 2013 batches announced it would begin a peaceful protest at the Directorate of School Education from February 26 over its demand to shift salary payments to the State Non-Development Expenditure head.