Advisor for School Education, Dr Kekhrielhoulie Yhome, on Thursday stated that the School Education Department has completed all necessary formalities regarding the regularisation process of the 1,166 ad-hoc teachers of the 2015 batch and is now awaiting further action from the Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms (P&AR).
Responding to queries from reporters on the sidelines of a programme at Zone Niathu, on the ongoing agitation by the ad-hoc teachers in Kohima, Dr Yhome said the matter is currently under consideration at the government level. He said the department has already submitted its proposal and assured that the government is working towards addressing the issue.
“From the department side, it (the process) is done. Now P&AR has to take a decision and put it up to the government. From our end, we have also appealed to the teachers not to resort to agitation as it creates unnecessary pressure. We are working to support them,” he said.
The Advisor acknowledged the concerns and emotional distress faced by the agitating teachers, many of whom have been serving for several years without job security. He pointed out that the department is aware of the challenges and is making efforts to resolve the issue through proper procedure.
Dr. Yhome explained that service-related matters require concurrence from multiple departments, including the Finance Department and P&AR, which deals with employment and service regulations. He noted that P&AR is currently handling a backlog of several service-related cases involving government employees.
Highlighting the complexity of teacher recruitment in Nagaland, he said the state presently has multiple categories of teachers, including regular teachers, teachers under central schemes such as Samagra Shiksha, contractual teachers, and those on fixed pay. He observed that teachers without job security often demonstrate greater commitment due to their uncertain employment status.
While empathizing with the agitating teachers, Dr. Yhome appealed to them to maintain patience and resume teaching duties, stating that the government has not abandoned them and discussions are ongoing.
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On another issue about some schools charging Rs 2000 to 5000 for admit cards, the Advisor warned that charging students money for issuing admit cards for Class 10 and Class 12 examinations is illegal and not part of departmental rules. He said strict action would be taken against any school found violating the norms.
“There is no such rule allowing schools to charge money for admit cards. If such cases are verified, necessary action will be taken as per law,” he asserted.
Addressing questions on rationalisation of government schools, Dr. Yhome said the department will continue to merge or close non-functional schools that lack adequate student enrolment. He clarified that such decisions are based purely on necessity and aimed at improving resource utilisation and governance in the education sector.
“If the schools don’t have students, we have no other choice. So once we close down stand-alone schools, there is no whatever to say that it will not be reopened. So it has to be all based on need basis,” he said.
He added that while Nagaland has schools in most villages but not enough students, which has made rationalisation inevitable.
