Govt proposes panel for RMSA issue

State government has proposed setting up of a committee to examine in detail the grievances of RMSA teachers 2016 batch.
The proposal was made known at a high-level meeting convened by principal secretary to chief minister & home commissioner Nagaland Abhijit Sinha on Thursday.
The meeting, convened to discuss and resolve the issue of RMSA 2016 teachers, was attended by officials of school education department, Samagra Shiksha, law & justice department and representatives from RMSA 2016 batch.
In a press release, commissioner & secretary school education, Kevileno Angami, stated that the principal secretary explained the state government processes and constraints of the state government in considering the demand for implementing scale pay prior to the outcome of the review petition filed in the Supreme Court.
Acknowledging the contribution of the teachers, Sinha reminded RMSA 2016 teachers on the adverse impact of their agitation on the student community and the desire of the government to resolve their issues.
Highlighting the time taken in disposal of litigation cases, the principal secretary suggested exploring workable alternatives to resolve the present stand-off
Therefore, constitution of a committee with representatives from school education department/ Samagra, finance department, justice and law, All Nagaland School Teachers’ Association (ANSTA) and with representatives of RMSA 2016 batch was proposed.
Assuring RMSA teachers that their memorandum submitted to chief minister would be studied, the government officials requested the teachers to call off the agitation and return back to school to prevent learning loss in schools. The meeting concluded with a commitment to continue dialogue and find a mutually acceptable resolution to the issue.
NRMSATA-2016 refutes: Nagaland RMSA Teachers Association-2016 (NRMSATA-2016) has refuted as “factually incorrect and misleading” the report suggesting that the state government “proposed the formation of a committee” during the meeting.
NRMSATA-2016 through its media cell stated that at no point in the meeting was such a proposal formally placed on the table.
It said the meeting was held at 10am at the home commissioner’s office, civil secretariat, but no such proposal was made. NRMSATA-2016 said the officials “merely” asked for more time to deliberate among themselves and come up with proposals for negotiations. NRMSATA-2016 said its representatives were kept waiting outside.
However, it said that later in the evening, at around 5am, a casual discussion took place outside the gate, by the roadside, wherein joint mission director, in an informal manner, mentioned the idea of forming a committee. “To portray this offhand remark as an official outcome of the meeting is a clear misrepresentation,” NRMSATA-2016 stated.
The association stated that the government did not make any formal proposal, nor did it demonstrate any concrete step toward resolving long-standing grievances of RMSA 2016 teachers.
The association affirmed that RMSA 2016 teachers did not agree to the setting up of any such committee as they were seeking justice through implementation of scale pay and not another layer of delay through committees. (RMSA 2016 rejoinder p-6)