Finally angry: Hindi teachers to boycott classes from Feb 16
• Govt’s failure to pay salary comes to heads
• After SSA controversy, Hindi teachers the latest victims
• Hindi teachers unpaid for several months
EMN
Dimapur, February 13
After more than half a year of working without salary from the government, numerous appeals, a good number of false promises from the state’s already disgraced education departments, Hindi teachers in Nagaland have finally decided to take countermeasures.
Hindi teachers from across the state will be boycotting all classes from February 16 as a token of its frustration against the education authorities. If the government fails to heed to the demands of the teachers, a second phase of agitation will commence from the 18th of this month, the All Nagaland Aggrieved Hindi Teachers Association stated on Friday.
“In view of the acute hardship faced by aggrieved teachers and families, the All Nagaland Aggrieved Hindi Teachers Association has decided to bunk classes starting from 16th February (Monday) 2015,” the association stated in a press release issued on Friday.
The All Nagaland Aggrieved Hindi Teachers Association met in an emergency meeting on February 13 in Kohima. The association discussed the issue of pending salary and issues relating to the 6th revised pay band and arrears benefits. The association also discussed a course of action to resolving the stated maters and undertook a number of resolutions to that effect.
“If the pay is not released by 17th February 2015, the association will start fresh agitation from 18th February 2015,” the Hindi teachers stated.
The government’s failure to live up to its promises of resolving the issue of pending salary within January 31 to release the 6th revised pay scale with the arrears and benefits “shall not be tolerated anymore,” the association stated.
“The association has taken strong note on the non-release of 6 months of pay leading to acute hardship of teachers and their families,” the teachers stated.
The Hindi teachers have decided to seek the cooperation of the media houses in the state with a request not to “mis-report the press statements.”
War school: headmasters, principals, Edu officers fight for control
• Principals’ blamed for poor govt school performance
• Probe into fund management suggested
• ‘Principals have no concern for high schools’
The embarrassing controversy over the question of who should control funds meant for government-run schools – ignited when headmasters decided on controlling funds for the institutions – is gaining momentum, reflecting the nadir the state’s educational sector has slumped into.
The controversy continues, with another group of workers in the education department, the Nagaland Secondary School Field Officer Forum (NSSFOF), issuing a statement on Friday. The statement from the forum highlighted what they called “truths for public consumption and to put the record straight.”
Concerning the head of institution, the organization referred to a rule of the Nagaland Board of School Education, in definition number 14 of the rule book which stated that the headmaster was the head of the high school. This meant, the forum stated, the headmaster was the head of high school sections even in the schools where higher secondary sections such as class-XI and class-XII had been added on upgrade.
“Since cadres, entry point, promotional channel, seniority etc. of the two cadres are all different clubbing together as same staff does not hold any water practically as far as cadres management is concerned,” the forum of ‘field officers’ stated.
In regard to funds for centrally sponsored schemes, the forums stated that “everybody knows that Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) launched in 2002 is for universalisation of elementary education (class 1-8) and Rashtriya Madyamik Abhiyan (RMSA) launched in 2010 is for universalisation of secondary education (Class9-10). However funds released by the ministry of Human Resource Development for universalisation of elementary and secondary education through SSA and RMSA flagship programmes are being controlled by the principals besides collecting admission fees from class 5/6 to class 10.”
“In short, all funds meant for high school sections are being handled by the principals of government higher secondary schools without transparency. But when closely observed the academic aspects of high school sections, principals are found to be neglecting academic areas of high section,” the forum stated.
The press release of the forum carried what the organization stated was ‘comparative results of HSLC and HSSLC examinations’ of government higher secondary school performance for the past 4 years.
The performance of the high school institutions is ‘going down as compared with HSSLC result in government higher secondary schools “which clearly indicated that principals have more attention towards higher secondary while neglecting lower sections,” the forum claimed. “In other words, they are only after money and power but have no concern for academic areas of high school sections.”
In regard to the current controversy between the headmasters and principals of school institutions, the forum also took sides saying that the “one must be very clear with the root cause of current tussling between headmasters and principals. In this tussle, headmaster / assistant headmaster is protecting / trying to withhold what is their chapter while principals are willing to control over other chapter.”
That meant that the headmasters are defensive defending their “ancestral territory where as principals are aggressive trying to penetrate to other territory (territory that does not belong to them) through encroachment,” the forum stated. “Hence who is greedy and crazy for power and who is not is to be judged by the readers.”
Concerning fund managements, the field officers asserted that “we know the story of all senior principals as to how they manage fund in their respective school.”
If necessary, the field officers stated, “We can expose the whole modus operandi of how they manage fund collected from poor students whom they have lots of concern by roaming in the corridor of the court for all grievances in their service career.”
Any policy or initiative taken by the government to meet the challenges of the department or for improvement of the department “should have its applicability /feasibility to classroom situation and be learners friendly,” the forum explained while no9t being specific.
The field officers’ forum has urged all headmasters and assistant headmasters of higher secondary schools “to be firm on the 3 resolutions adopted on 29-01-15 and comply it in letter and spirit in the larger interest of secondary and elementary educations.”
