ANSTA hits back at ENSF over strike objection

All Nagaland School Teachers’ Association (ANSTA) has reacted to Eastern Naga Students’ Federation (ENSF) prohibiting teachers from participating in the proposed “pen down strike” scheduled from October 14-16, 2025.
In a press release, ANSTA president Kasheto Sumi and general secretary Pekinto Y Jimo stated that ENSF—a student body—had no legal authority to veto or restrain teachers’ collective action decided by the ANSTA in compliance with the directive issued by the joint coordination committee (JCC).
The association stated that the rights and duties of teachers, as government employees, were governed by Nagaland State Service / Education Department rules, statutes, and not by directives from student bodies.
To guard against misinterpretation or intimidation, ANSTA has advised all members to act in a peaceful, disciplined, decorous manner during the strike period (October 14-16 2025).
It urged the members to avoid obstructing schools, damaging property, or engaging in any violent or unlawful actions, which the government could use as pretext for penal action.
ANTSA has advised the members to maintain attendance at the workplace as far as possible, but refrain from “pen and paper work”. Further, the association has advised the members to document any interference or threats by ENSF or other bodies.
ANSTA clarified that it issued circular as an affiliated association of CANSSEA. It also clarified that the proposed strike was not a close down of schools but a pen-down strike, adding that the difference must be clearly understood. “One must understand that the pen-down strike is not merely an act of protest but a collective stand to safeguard the very principle of meritocracy – where hard work, qualifications and fairness prevail over favouritism or influence,” ANSTA stated.
Therefore, ANSTA has urged the ENSF—a matured organisation led by intellectuals—to understand that the students, as the torchbearers of tomorrow, must be enlightened that their future depended on the fairness of the system they will inherit.
The association has reminded all district units and teachers’ groups to remain united, maintain morale, and ensure reporting of any obstruction to the ANSTA HQ.