Nagaland govt orders reversion of teachers to eastern districts amid agitation

The Nagaland government has decided to revert 33 teachers back to their original postings in the eastern districts following widespread protests by the Eastern Nagaland Students’ Federation (ENSF) against the state’s teacher rationalisation policy.

The decision was taken during an emergency meeting chaired by Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio on Wednesday in Kohima. The meeting was attended by ministers and legislators from Eastern Nagaland, including C L John and P Paiwang Konyak, Advisor Wangpang Konyak, Advisor for School Education & SCERT Dr Kekhrielhoulie Yhome, Chief Secretary Sentiyanger Imchen, Home Commissioner Abhijit Sinha and senior officials of the School Education Department.

The ENSF had on Monday launched an agitation, closing down government schools and offices across Mon, Tuensang, Kiphire, Longleng, Noklak, and Shamator districts. 

The student body alleged that the rationalisation exercise had led to severe teacher shortages, leaving several schools without subject teachers after many were transferred out without replacements. The agitation disrupted the education of thousands of students across the six districts.

According to the School Education Department, the eastern region has 606 government schools with 45,174 students and 4,733 teachers, translating into a pupil-teacher ratio of 10:1 as per UDISE 2024-25. However, the department admitted that the rationalisation exercise approved by the Cabinet in August had unintentionally worsened staff deficits in the region.

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To address the issue, the government has ordered the reversion of 33 teachers who were earlier transferred out of the eastern districts. It also decided to identify and transfer qualified teachers in key subjects such as Hindi, Mathematics, and Science currently serving in other districts back to their native eastern districts. Newly recruited Maths and Science teachers will be directly posted in the six districts facing acute shortages.

In addition, the government has resolved to convert vacant posts into essential subject-specific positions and fill them through fresh recruitment. As a stopgap arrangement, the department has been asked to explore community engagement of teachers until permanent measures are put in place.

The government has also agreed to consult elected representatives and district administrations to implement a more region-sensitive teacher rationalisation policy in the future.

Following the government’s invitation for dialogue on September 20, the ENSF has suspended its agitation, which it had earlier planned to intensify from Thursday. The federation said it would wait for the outcome of the talks before taking further steps.