Counter-Statement to “RMSA 2016 Pay Row: Nagaland Government Clarifies Status, Urges Teachers to Resume Duties” (press release September 15, 2025)
The state SchoolEducation Department’s recent press release talking about “fixed pay” and “co-terminus” jobs is misleading. These matters are already settled by the courts, which clearly said such practices are unfair, exploitative, and discriminatory. There is nothing left to debate.
The Supreme Court has already upheld the Gauhati High Court’s order telling the Nagaland Government to give equal salary to RMSA teachers—the same as other teachers who do the same work, with the same qualifications and responsibilities. The principle is simple: equal pay for equal work. The Government/Department cannot divide teachers into two groups and treat them differently when their job is the same.
So, we ask:
- Why bring back issues already decided?
The Department/Government is trying to revive “fixed pay” and “co-terminus” arguments that the courts have already thrown out. The Supreme Court has ordered salary parity. Not following that is nothing but breaking the law and denying justice. - Why mislead the public?
These press statements are confusing people. They make it look like the courts haven’t settled the matter. That is not true—the law is crystal clear, and teachers deserve equal pay. - On the “co-terminus” excuse:
If the Government is using “co-terminus with the scheme” as a way to deny rights, that is also against the spirit of the courts’ judgment. The courts have said that whether a job is under a scheme or not, teachers doing the same work with the same qualifications must be treated equally. - Why this double standard?
Teachers recruited under the same schemes in earlier years—SSA 2010, SSA 2013, and RMSA 2013—have all been mainstreamed into the system and are now enjoying full pay scale. Why then are RMSA-2016 teachers still kept on fixed pay and treated as “temporary”? The Government must explain this clear discrimination.
The Government claims that RMSA-2016 teachers were recruited “through an open advertisement and written examination by NEMS.” Yet it conveniently omits the fact that candidates also underwent a rigorous viva voce/interview, making the process more stringent and merit-based than many other state recruitments. Further, if the appointments were purely under NEMS, why did a batch of RMSA-2016 Teachers (who were in the waiting list) receive appointment letters from the Department of School Education (DoSE) itself? This contradiction exposes the Government’s attempt to distance itself from its own responsibility.
From the outset, the recruitment advertisement itself violated norms laid down by the NCTE and the Ministry of Education (then MHRD). The Director of School Education (SE) even raised this issue before the Project Approval Board (PAB), where it was officially recorded that the State’s advertisement for recruitment of teachers was not in compliance with NCTE guidelines. The PAB expressed serious concern that the advertisement appeared to suggest teachers’ appointments were contingent on RMSA funding. It categorically advised the State to revise the advertisement in line with NCTE guidelines, and to make it clear that appointed teachers would remain the responsibility of the State regardless of external funding. Despite such directives, Nagaland has continued to misclassify RMSA-2016 teachers, depriving them of their rightful recognition as state cadre teachers.
Worse still, the salary arrangement is exploitative. The ₹31,315 paid is only a fixed amount, not the actual pay scale under the 7th ROP. To misrepresent this fixed pay as “full salary” is not just misleading—it is a deliberate injustice.
It must also be remembered that since its inception, RMSA was conceived only as an additional support to States/UTs to achieve universal access to secondary education. The frameworks and manuals of SamagraShiksha have clearly illustrated that financial support from the Government of India, including salary support, was never intended to substitute or replace the State’s fundamental responsibility for education. The Nagaland Government, therefore, cannot shirk its obligations by hiding behind the excuse of a centrally sponsored scheme. The Government of Nagaland’s repeated claim that RMSA-2016 teachers were appointed on a “co-terminus with the scheme” basis is not only unjust but also self-contradictory.
If teachers’ jobs are to vanish once the scheme ends, then we ask:
Will the 133 upgraded Government High Schools also be downgraded back to middle schools?
Will underprivileged students in rural and remote areas be denied admission to Class IX and X once the funding pattern changes?
RMSA was never meant to create temporary schools. It was launched to universalise secondary education and ensure that every child, regardless of background, has access to classes beyond VIII. To treat teachers as “temporary” while the schools and students are permanent is a policy contradiction and a betrayal of RMSA’s very purpose. Education cannot be reduced to a funding scheme. It is a constitutional right and a state obligation.
Justice for teachers is justice for students. Education cannot be reduced to a scheme, nor teachers to bonded labour.
Background & Evidence - Project Approval Board (PAB) Intervention
The Director of School Education (SE) raised the issue of the flawed advertisement for RMSA recruitment. The PAB noted that the State advertisement was not in compliance with NCTE guidelines.
The PAB expressed serious concern that the advertisement implied appointments were tied to RMSA funding.
The PAB categorically advised the State to revise the advertisement, making it clear that teachers’ appointments would remain the basic responsibility of the State. - SamagraShiksha Framework
RMSA was conceived as additional support to States/UTs to achieve universal secondary education.
Frameworks and manuals of SamagraShiksha state that such support—including salary support from GoI—cannot substitute State funding for education.
This establishes that the State cannot evade its duty to regularise and provide full pay parity to RMSA-2016 teachers.
To be continued…
Issued by
NRMSATA-2016