DIMAPUR, JANUARY 26 (MExN): The State Cabinet has termed the ongoing agitation called by the Eastern Naga Students Federation (ENSF) as “most unreasonable and disproportionate to the issue at hand”. The State Cabinet which met at an emergency meeting held on January 26 at the Residential Office of the Chief Minister has expressed its “displeasure at the manner in which the ENSF is carrying on its agitation on the issue of teacher recruitment”.
It may be mentioned that besides the CM and his other eleven senior Cabinet members, the meeting was attended by twelve other special invitees (Parliamentary Secretaries). One of the agenda discussed was with regard to the agitation called by the ENSF on the issue of recruitment of Graduate Teachers (GT) and Under Graduate Teachers (UGT) under RMSA and SSA in the four districts of Tuensang, Mon, Kiphire and Longleng.
In view of the refusal of the ENSF to respond to the latest request of the School Education Minister for discussion of the issue, the Cabinet requested the Legislators of eastern Nagaland to “urgently discuss the matter with the ENPO and the concerned tribal councils/hohos and to try and thrash out solutions or come out with suggestions for tackling/solving the issue”.
Meanwhile, the Cabinet while expressing its displeasure felt that the ENSF should have been more reasonable and more accountable for its actions. According to the minutes of the cabinet meeting made available to the media, asking the public not to attend the Republic Day functions in the four districts of Eastern Nagaland and obstructing the State Ministers and Parliamentary Secretaries from attending Republic Day functions in the eastern Nagaland areas and further their (ENSF) decision to enforce closing down of the four districts of eastern Nagaland indefinitely “was most unreasonable and disproportionate to the issue at hand”.
Also the Cabinet was of the view that the figure of 1500 to 1600 teachers claimed by the ENSF to have been transferred out of eastern Nagaland areas with posts “is hypothetical and not based on factual calculation”. The Cabinet accordingly directed the School Education Department to clarify the actual figure for all concerned and for public consumption.
The Cabinet has meanwhile concurred and reiterated the earlier assurance given by the Chief Secretary in his letter dated 14th August, 2011 that all the teacher posts that have been transferred out of eastern Nagaland areas with incumbents without corresponding replacement would be restored. According to the Cabinet meeting, this will be done in a phased manner and within the shortest possible time after ascertaining the actual number of such posts transferred out in the past without corresponding replacement.
Further if this was difficult to arrive at, then this will be done after ascertaining the actual position of shortage of teachers school-wise in the eastern Naga areas. The process of ascertaining the actual shortage of school teachers in eastern Nagaland areas may be completed by the School Education Department within a period of 15 days from today, stated the minute of the Cabinet meeting.
‘State govt. committed to addressing grievances’
Kohima, January 26 (MExN): Governor of Nagaland Nikhil Kumar today assured that the state government is committed to addressing the genuine grievances and concerns of the people of the eastern areas of Nagaland. However, he said any further division of the state is not in the interest of the Naga people. The governor said the commitment is to address the issue of socio-economic development and their representation in government services. Of late, he said, some people and organizations have raised a demand for a separate state comprising of the four districts of Mon, Tuensang, Longleng and Kiphire. “However, the government has offered to set up an autonomous council with sufficient financial and administrative powers for these districts,” he said. “It is our firm belief that further division of the state is not in the interest of Naga people.” Governor Kumar said that much progress has been made in the socio-economic and infrastructure development in the past few years as well as in the enforcement of reservation in government employment for the people of the “eastern” districts.
