Nagaland: 2293 mainstreamed teachers launch indefinite protest over salary budget head

As many as 2,293 members of the Nagaland Government Teachers’ Association (NGTA) on February 26 launched a protest in Kohima, demanding that their salaries be drawn from the state’s non-plan expenditure head instead of Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS).

Teachers belonging to the 2010 and 2013 batches staged a demonstration outside the Directorate of School Education, asserting that despite being mainstreamed into the State Education Cadre more than three years ago, their salary structure has not been aligned with that of regular state government employees.

Speaking to reporters, NGTA representatives said the teachers were formally mainstreamed through a government order dated September 2, 2022, with effect from April 21, 2022, following approval by the state cabinet. However, their salaries continue to be paid under CSS heads linked to the erstwhile Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan, instead of the appropriate state account head.

The association said repeated representations seeking inclusion of their salary component under the state’s non-development expenditure had yielded no concrete response. After serving a seven-day ultimatum on February 16 and observing a two-day pen-down strike earlier this week, the teachers escalated their agitation with the current protest.

Meanwhile, the School Education Department issued a clarification in response to the agitation. The department stated that the 2010 and 2013 batch teachers were initially appointed against posts created under CSS, with salaries funded by the Government of India. However, as the recruitment advertisements and appointment orders did not explicitly mention SSA or RMSA terms, the teachers sought mainstreaming into the State School Education Cadre.

The department said that considering the open recruitment process — conducted with clearance from the Personnel and Administrative Reforms and Finance departments and approved by the state cabinet — all 2,293 teachers who met the eligibility criteria under the Nagaland School Education Service Rules, 2017 were mainstreamed into the state cadre on September 2, 2022.

It added that the mainstreamed teachers are currently enjoying benefits under the 7th Revision of Pay, including scale pay and other entitlements, and are governed by the same service rules as regular state government employees. The department further clarified that while representations regarding the salary head have been forwarded to the concerned authorities, it is not within the prerogative of employees to decide the budget head from which salaries are disbursed. It also noted that consultations were held with teachers’ representatives on June 2 by the Adviser for School Education along with officials from Samagra Shiksha and the Finance Department.

NGTA Dimapur Unit president Alemkala said the teachers were regular appointees from the beginning. “We are not backdoor appointees. We went through written examinations and viva voce and were selected on merit. For more than 13 years, we have been fighting to be treated at par with other state cadre teachers. Our salary component should be shifted from CSS to the state non-plan budget,” he said.

NGTA Central Unit president Peilhau Irangbe said the state cabinet had, in principle, decided in October 2018 to induct the 2,293 teachers into the State Education Cadre, following which they were integrated after fulfilling the required criteria with effect from April 1, 2022.

“Being under CSS, the department often cites delays in the release of central funds, due to which our salaries are sometimes delayed for months. The posts advertised were regular departmental posts, but ‘under CSS scheme’ was later inserted in our appointment letters. This is why we demand that our salaries be shifted to the state non-plan head without further delay,” Irangbe said.