Emilo Khuvung
Kohima | March 6
Irked by the nonchalant attitude of the department of School Education and the state government, the Naga Students’ Federation (NSF) has now decided to ‘lock down’ the Directorate of School Education on March 9 from 9 AM. A poster campaign will be carried out simultaneously with the NSF’s line of action. The federation will launch a second phase of agitation if the government turns deaf ear to the scheduled agitation on March 9.
Addressing a press conference this evening in Kohima, president of NSF Kelhouneizo Yhome said the organization has served ‘incalculable’ representations, reminders and ultimatums as well as met the department. However, the demands remain unfulfilled either from the department or the government, Yhome said. As is the case, the NSF will initiate ‘democratic’ protest against the School Education department and the government to show the federation’s resentment and also to educate the students’ community, the public and the younger generation.
The NSF leader said the federation has run out of patience and will not simply leave students’ careers at stake. The scandals in the School Education department hit three years ago and leaders of preceding tenures in the federation had vigorously pursued the cases, Yhome said. The department’s ‘same response’ is not fitting to their demands, Yhome said, “therefore the time has come to take up the issues to the street, else the department, government will never pay attention to the demand.”
The five demands made by the federation are: termination of all teachers appointed with fake educational certificates, appointment orders with forged signatures, fake appointment orders and absentee teachers. The report of the Special Investigating team (SIT) and Departmental Verification Committee (DVC) has clearly detected teachers who were with fake educational documents or are illegal appointments. Yet till today, the department has not initiated any action against these “teachers.”
“The federation felt that uneducated, unqualified teachers will not be allowed to teach our younger brothers and sisters to give us expecting quality education from them,” the NSF said. Adding on the demand, the NSF wants immediate authentication of the doubtful and ad-hoc categories of teachers and terminate irregular teachers. The NSF president said the report has detected doubtful categories but no remarks were found against “teachers” under the ‘doubtful category.’ The NSF has asked the government to terminate the illegal teachers.
NSF demands punishment to officials
Another demand of the NSF is that the government officers or persons involved in the scam of irregular appointments must be punished. Yhome said the reports have found many officers from the School Education department. However, disciplinary action was taken only against a former director while the rest went scot-free. The NSF quoted reliable sources that accused or culpable officers involved in the scam have been deputed to other departments and those who are still in the Education department are likely to get promotion, “When a person having that immoral integrity, how can the government promote before cleaning up what they have done in the department; they should be equally penalized”, the federation demanded.
General Secretary of NSF Ejanthung Ngullie also urged the government to stop forming committees as SIT, DVC and SVCs. Forming committees is enough to clean the mess if only the state government actually acts; too many committees is just to buy time, dragging the matter from one point to another the NSF leader said.
Ngullie said 251 teachers were detected with fake certificates, forged signatures and in the ‘absentee’ group only 84 were terminated. The NSF cautioned the department about the rest 167 teachers who were even allowed to sit for a suitability text examination held last month. He said the federation has a strong apprehension that even the 84 terminated teachers must have been allowed to sit for the suitability test.
Putting in more, the general secretary said 514 doubtful teachers were found and cautioned whether the department has settled the issue. 35 erring officers have been ‘sent for prosecution’ in the department. However, “the department is playing a blame game by shifting the matters to the vigilance and the vigilance is not answerable to the blame”. He reiterated that education is the backbone of the society and the federation will take a severe course of action in phases if the government fails to take heed.
On the demand for redeployment of teachers, Yhome said the federation has no issue with redeployment as the organization has been fighting for more than 10 years for the issue. However acute shortage of teachers was found especially in the rural areas. The NSF leaders cautioned the government that much has been spoken about quality education but politicians, bureaucrats and even the civil society is not serious about the issue of redeployment. Right-thinking citizens are urged to act to see that proper and quality education is imparted to see a ‘changed society.’
On the issue of “transfer with post’, the president said that in many cases, most of the politicians’ or bureaucrats relatives or associates would transfer their posts to the urban areas. The NSF strongly demanded stopping this system of transfer-with-post. The federation will not allow any teacher to be attached with any DIS, DEO, Directorate or any ministerial staff. ‘Teachers are appointed to teach in the class, they are not appointed to be attached with any administrative department,’ the student leader said.
