NTeT, teacher recruitment and the question of consistency

The recent notification of the Department of School Education providing for the compulsory retirement of teachers who fail to clear the Nagaland Teacher Eligibility Test (NTeT) by 31 August 2028 raises a fundamental question: what is the practical purpose of NTeT when the State has not conducted open recruitment of Primary Teachers for the past 11 years?
The issue of teacher qualifications is not new. On 22nd August 2017 at the inaugural programme of the 2nd All Nagaland School Teachers’ Conference at the NBCC Convention Hall, Kohima, the then Education Minister, Shri Tokheho Yepthomi, had stated that teachers without B.Ed. and D.El.Ed. qualifications would face termination by March 2019, in accordance with the then MHRD directives. A similar statement was made by the then Principal Secretary of the School Education Department, Shri Menukhol John, on 2 November 2018 at the 40th Triennial General Conference at Viswema.
Yet, RTI information has subsequently raised questions about appointments made even thereafter involving persons without the prescribed qualifications. If the earlier directives were not fully implemented, what has changed now, and why should the latest notification be viewed differently?
The question becomes more pertinent when the Government has not provided a regular avenue for fresh teacher recruitment. If NTeT is intended to ensure professional eligibility, the Government must also explain where and how NTeT-qualified candidates are expected to be recruited.
There is also a distinction that needs to be made clear. NTeT does not by itself provide eligibility for Central Government teacher recruitment where CTET is prescribed. Candidates seeking such opportunities must meet the applicable CTET requirement. The CTET framework further requires candidates to satisfy its two-language criteria, which may pose an additional challenge for many candidates in Nagaland.
The Government has also cited the student–teacher ratio as a reason for not undertaking fresh recruitment. If that is the basis for withholding open recruitment, the Government must explain why the same consideration did not prevent the substantial number of appointments reportedly made through other channels (backdoor) between 2015 and 2019.
The issue, therefore, is not about opposing NTeT or targeting teachers. It is about consistency in policy.
If qualification is mandatory, it must be applied consistently. If recruitment is restricted on the ground of student–teacher ratio, the same principle must be applied consistently. And if teachers are required to qualify through NTeT, the Government must provide a clear and meaningful recruitment pathway for those who qualify.
Botika Sumi
Sitimi Town