Hindi teachers in Nagaland still waiting for salary—but armed with boycott

Hindi teachers in Nagaland have decided on boycotting classes in response of the government failing to pay their salary for about seven months. However, they are holding it back for now with the hope that the matter would be resolved soon.

The All Nagaland Aggrieved Hindi Teachers’ Association (ANAHTA) issued a press release on Friday stating financial hardships that the government’s failure to pay their salary has brought about.

The ANAHTA leadership met in Kohima town on August 11 during which the members deliberated on their grievances and hardships. Also, they petitioned the directorate of School Education to look into the case. 

“The meeting initially resolved to boycott classes on account of ‘no pay, no work’ but it was kept in abeyance for the time being keeping in view the interest of the students,” the association stated.

The teachers have demanded that the School Education department ‘pursue the release of pending salary with immediate effect’ as the teachers have had to perform their duties regularly even their being paid for six-seven months at a stretch.

‘The members also resolved to pursue the department to submit the audit report on time to the central government, so long as we are paid under centrally-sponsored scheme,’ the press release stated.

The ANAHTA also requested its members to ‘bear with the untold suffering each day.’ They have urged the department in concern “to do the best possible means to pay the teachers on time so as to maintain a congenial relationship between the teachers and the department.”

The organization assured to “stand together” in case any member was “individually targeted by any authority while working for the cause of ANATHA.”

Another statement that the association made during the meeting was that there were state employees, accordingly with their appointment letters.

“...As per our appointment order, we are state employees regularly appointed and not appointed under any scheme; hence we should be accommodated under the state plan henceforth,” the association stated.  

The association has also asked the School Education department to ‘afford an opportunity to teachers to pursue training through correspondence course.’ The reason is that they cannot afford to keep “proxy” or substitute teachers “when our own survival is at stake for non-receipt of timely salary.”

The press release stated: ‘It may be noted that the department has already made the teachers to sign an undertaking on 26th July 2016, where the teachers on training would not be substituted at the expense of department / authority during the training period, instead the teacher on training would have to pay his / her substitute / proxy from his / her own salary to the tune of Rs. 6, 700 per month.’

Another reason that the group cited was that Nagaland had only one training institute for Hindi, and it could not accommodate the teachers ‘within limited time.’

The ANAHTA has also decided to “pursue as to why the New Pension Scheme deducted / contributed amount is not properly accredited to the accounts of members.”

(Al Ngullie, August 26, 2016; Eastern Mirror) 

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