KOHIMA, Sept 18: The Nagaland government has decided to reversion of 33 teachers posted out of the eastern districts during the rationalisation exercise, official sources said on Thursday.
The decision on the reversion of teachers was taken at an emergency meeting chaired by Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio on Wednesday. The meeting was attended by legislators from the Eastern Nagaland areas, including ministers C L John and P Paiwang Konyak and Advisor Wangpang Konyak, Advisor for School Education & SCERT Dr Kekhrielhoulie Yhome, Chief Secretary Sentiyanger Imchen, Home Commissioner Abhijit Sinha and senior officials from the School Education Department.
The Eastern Nagaland Students Federation (ENSF) on Monday launched an agitation directing the closure of government schools and offices in the districts of Mon, Tuensang, Kiphire, Longleng, Noklak, and Shamator, citing that the teacher rationalisation policy led to critical shortages of teachers in the region.
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The protest has significantly disrupted the education of thousands of students, prompting immediate government intervention.
The Federation said the rationalisation has resulted in a number of schools in the region being left without subject teachers, as many were transferred out without relievers against sanctioned posts.
During the meeting with the chief minister on Wednesday, the School Education Department reported that the eastern districts currently consist of 606 government schools, 45,174 students, and 4,733 teachers, with a pupil-teacher ratio of 10:1 as per UDISE 2024-25, sources said.
The department explained that the rationalisation policy, approved by the Cabinet in August 2025, was intended to optimise teacher deployment but had unintentionally aggravated the staff deficit in the eastern region.
After thorough deliberations, the government decided reversion of 33 teachers who were posted out of the eastern districts during the rationalisation exercise, reinstating them to their original postings to immediately address the staff shortfall.
It was also decided to identify and transfer of Hindi, Maths, Science, and other requisite subject teachers currently serving in other districts back to their indigenous eastern districts to ensure key subject areas are staffed.
The government decided that newly recruited Maths and Science teachers would be directly posted to schools in the six eastern districts where acute shortages were identified, sources said.
On a need basis, vacant posts would be converted into Hindi, Maths, or Science teaching positions, with new recruitment carried out through open advertisement to attract qualified candidates.
As a temporary stopgap measure, the department has been asked to explore the community engagement of teachers until permanent solutions are in place.
It was also decided to consult with elected representatives and district administration to facilitate a more locally sensitive and effective rationalisation of teachers, sources said.
The department, following the decisions taken by the government, requested the ENSF to keep the agitation on hold and come forward for discussion to resolve the issues on September 20.
Accepting the invitation of the government, the ENSF, which had proposed to intensify the protest from Thursday, has kept the ongoing agitation on hold with immediate effect until further order. (PTI)
