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KOHIMA — Several concerning challenges, including lack of professional support and care for teachers, were uncovered in a survey conducted in Nagaland over the past six months, said Dr. Kekhrielhoulie Yhome, Advisor of School Education and SCERT, on Monday.
He said that substantial changes are imperative to address various issues in the School Education department.
Speaking to journalists in Kohima on the eve of Teachers’ Day, Yhome, who was accompanied by Thavaseelan K, Principal Director of School Education, acknowledged the dedication of the teachers.
He lamented that they often become pawns in the hands of public and politicians. "Professionally, we have not taken care of our teachers," he added.
[bsa_pro_ad_space id=1]Asserting that education, like health, requires constant government intervention, he urged the stakeholders to collaborate and enhance the state's education system. There are instances where the village councils collaborate with proxy teachers, despite their inclusion in the communitisation system, he pointed out.
Meanwhile, he also raised concern over a section of educators moving between schools without proper authorization, often using their political connections.
To address issues within the system, Yhome stressed the importance of student union’s involvement, citing the proactive role played by the Chang Students' Union, which inspected all the 67 schools in the Chang areas.
Disclosing that that many school buildings date back to the 1970s and with minimal maintenance, he sought the Centre's intervention in bringing infrastructure development. He added that about INR 1730 crore is allocated for salaries of teachers and staff.
No administrative knowledge
Yhome lamented officials lacking administrative knowledge to run directorate of School Education and posting of many officers to the district levels at the fag-end of their career when ‘they are not able to carry out the work assigned to them as expected'.
He also expressed dismay over the department officials’ lack of awareness about the number of employees, including staff and teachers, in their respective jurisdictions, which was found out in the survey.
Highlighting the department's disorganisation, he said they have identified the problems and devised ways to rectify it.
He updated that there are 1,939 government schools across the state but there is a significant disparity in the number of teachers and institutions, showing more government schools in rural areas and more private schools in urban settlements. (refer table)
According to the data provided by the department, there are 341 employees at the directorate of school education, including eight absentees, while the Grade III and IV staff strength of DoSE is 3780.
In terms of the number of teachers in the state, it said there are 595 post-graduate teachers (PGTs), graduate - 4973, primary - 9520, language -131, graduate Hindi -158, under-graduate Hindi - 1801, physical education -184, and vocational trainers – 114. This includes regular, adhoc, contractual, fixed as well as teachers under centrally sponsored scheme.
The survey added that 181 graduate teachers and four under-graduate Hindi teachers are found to be attached to non-teaching line, while three language teachers are attached to Samagra.
The department also updated that 510 employees, including 323 teachers and 187 staff are in retiree list as on December 31, 2024.
Citing the data, Yhome said recruitment, particularly for graduate teachers, has been neglected for years, leading to shortage, particularly in subjects like Mathematics and Science. On this, he said the department had conducted recruitment exams for PGTs, the result of which was declared on July 6, while another batch recruited through NPSC on July 3.
Transfer woes
The advisor stressed the need of a more considerate approach while transferring, saying that teachers face hardships in the process.
While lauding the dedication of young teachers in primary schools, he expressed concern over migration despite the government restricting early child education teachers to their respective districts. He also mentioned teacher shortages arising out of retirement and lengthy recruitment process.