Mizoram teachers suspend eight-day agitation after government assures action

The Mizoram Government Ad hoc-Aided High School Teachers’ Association (MIGAHTA) on July 30 suspended its eight-day agitation after the state government assured the teachers that their grievances would be placed before the Political Affairs Committee (PAC) of the ruling Zoram People’s Movement (ZPM).

The association had been protesting since July 21 against newly drafted rules that it claimed would downgrade the status of ad hoc aided high schools. The teachers were also demanding the full government takeover, or provincialisation, of ad hoc aided high schools across the state.

MIGAHTA said it suspended the agitation on Thursday afternoon and would wait for the ZPM PAC’s decision and the subsequent response of the School Education Department before deciding its next course of action.

The association has directed its members to resume normal duties at their respective schools from August 3.

The decision followed a meeting between MIGAHTA leaders and ZPM vice-president Lalmuanpuia Punte on Wednesday. During the meeting, the teachers’ representatives presented their concerns and demands, while the ruling party leader outlined the government’s proposed course of action.

According to a resolution adopted after the meeting, the government assured the association that its demands would be discussed at the next ZPM PAC meeting scheduled for August 12. The committee’s decision would subsequently be conveyed to the School Education Department for appropriate action.

MIGAHTA reiterated its opposition to the proposed ‘Mizoram Education (Lumpsum Grants-in-Aid for General Maintenance of Private School) Rules, 2026’, alleging that the rules would place ad hoc aided high schools in a lower category than their existing status.

The association demanded that the government should not issue any notification placing unprovincialised ad hoc high schools under ‘Special Category-I’, as it claimed the government had assured the teachers that no such notification would be issued before further discussions.

The teachers’ body warned that it would resume an intensified agitation if the government went ahead with the notification in violation of its assurance.

MIGAHTA had launched a phased protest beginning with a black badge campaign on July 21 and 22, followed by ‘No Teaching Day’ on July 23 and 24, mass casual leave on July 27 and 28, and a peaceful sit-in demonstration on July 29 and 30.

While the agitation has been suspended, the association said the dispute remains unresolved and that its future course of action will depend on the ZPM PAC’s decision and the government’s response.