Five months after rationalization halt, Nagaland’s schools suffer
When the Department of School Education (DoSE), Nagaland, suspended its teacher rationalization orders on February 17, 2025, “in the interest of public service,” the intent was to revisit concerns raised over transfer and posting decisions. But five months later, that pause appears to have deepened the problem it set out to fix—leaving government schools mired in confusion, critical shortages, and lopsided staffing.
On February 6 and 10, the DoSE issued orders redeploying nearly 1,650 teachers including mathematics, science, Hindi, and primary-level educators as part of a long-awaited rationalization process. The move was meant to balance the distribution of teachers across schools and address gaps, especially in rural areas.
What followed was backlash from student bodies and school heads across Nagaland. The execution, they said, was riddled with errors, arbitrary decisions, and a disregard for ground realities. Days later, the department put all orders on hold.
Yet, the suspension has not brought about clarity or corrections. If anything, it has exposed a system unable to manage its own workforce.
Speaking on February 17, the same day the orders were suspended, Nagaland’s Advisor for School Education and SCERT, Kekhrielhoulie Yhome, acknowledged the complexity of the rationalization effort.
“Though the process is simple in theory,” he said, “it has faced hurdles due to personal challenges the teachers face, including health issues, family responsibilities, and the desire to stay closer to their home areas.”
Yhome admitted that many teachers prefer to remain in accessible urban postings, leaving interior schools underserved. He described the policy as “cumbersome,” noting that teachers are often unprepared to adapt to abrupt changes.
Despite opposition and administrative hurdles, Yhome maintained that rationalization would continue, assuring that the department would revisit cases with “specific concerns or exceptional issues.”
In the absence of coordinated departmental action, student organizations have stepped in. On July 19, the Ao Students’ Conference (AKM) released interim findings from its inspection of 58 schools, painting a grim picture of the ground situation.
Twenty-nine schools were found to have an excess number of teachers, some high schools with as many as 30 staff and primary schools with 16. Meanwhile, rural schools faced a crippling shortage of subject-specific teachers.
“In one particular case, a teacher who was transferred to a new posting in an urban area was not accepted by the Head Teacher because that school already had excess staff,” the AKM said. The organization observed that while schools may seem overstaffed in number, many lack essential subject teachers, resulting in ineffective teaching and learning.
Among the most pressing cases is that of GMS Aliba, where there has been “no Mathematics teacher for eight classrooms since 2016.” The AKM noted that “despite repeated requests by the School Management and Development Committee (SMDC) and the Village Council for the deployment of a new Mathematics teacher, the department has yet to respond.” Similarly, GMS Mokokchung Town is facing “a crisis due to the absence of an English teacher.”
The student body also raised alarm over the rise of proxy and substitute teaching, often used as stop-gap measures in remote areas. It issued a warning to schools, saying it would “impose strict consequences” on those caught employing unauthorized staff.
Perhaps the most glaring example of bureaucratic failure came from the Khongka Students’ Union in Kiphire. On July 26, the Union revealed that a retired teacher had been posted to Government Primary School (GPS) Khongka under the February 10 rationalization order.
According to official records, H Khumkiu retired on August 31, 2024. Yet, he was transferred to GPS Khongka in February 2025. The retired teacher’s name appeared on the order, replacing another serving teacher and leaving the school effectively under-staffed.
“This error has remained uncorrected to this day,” the Union stated, adding that despite multiple representations to the SDEO and the Principal Director between February and June, no action has been taken.
The Union further claimed that many transferred teachers have continued to draw salaries at their new postings, despite the rationalization order being suspended—revealing what it called “a selective and inconsistent implementation” of the suspension.
Speaking to MT, Lanulemba Longchar, Education Secretary of the Ao Students’ Conference (AKM), said the rationalization process has so far yielded no positive results for schools.
“After the rationalization was kept in abeyance, those who wanted to transfer have already done so, while those who didn’t want to are stuck in their previous postings,” he said.
He emphasized that any rationalization exercise should be carried out at the end of the academic year, allowing teachers adequate time to make necessary adjustments.
“In many rural areas, teachers face challenges related to travel, accommodation, and communication. They need sufficient time to address these issues, and the winter break would be the most appropriate window,” he said.
He also pointed out the poor living conditions some teachers endure. “In certain villages, we’ve come across cases where three to four teachers are forced to share a single rented room.”
Lanulemba said that the need of the hour is proper planning before implementation. The absence of real-time school data and consultation, he added, led to a haphazard rollout.
He also suggested that rationalization should begin with urban schools, where teacher surpluses are more common, rather than penalizing remote schools already struggling with limited staff.
He further raised concerns over alleged political interference in teacher postings, which he believe undermines trust in the entire process.
Lanulemba further emphasized that rural teaching conditions must be realistically accounted for, noting that expecting one teacher to manage multiple classes is unsustainable and unfair.
Finally, he proposed that teachers who are unwilling to take up rural postings without valid reasons should be offered the option of voluntary retirement, as a means to ensure accountability within the system.
The current limbo raises a pressing question: What is the cost of putting a policy on hold without alternatives or reforms?
The rationalization process was necessary and long overdue, but it now risks becoming another example of administrative paralysis. A rushed rollout, a selective freeze, and silence from the department have created confusion, demoralized teachers, and left students particularly in rural Nagaland paying the price.