Seven-year struggle continues as government cites pending SC review, leaving pay scale implementation in limbo and agitation unresolved
The ongoing protest by the 2016 batch of RMSA teachers in Nagaland concluded its second week on Friday, with the teachers staging a sit-in agitation after observing a week-long pen-down strike earlier. The protesting teachers, under the banner of the Nagaland RMSA Teachers’ Association (NRMSATA- 2016), have announced that they will continue their agitation into the third week from Monday at the Nagaland Civil Secretariat if their demands remain unmet.
“There is no positive response from the government so, we will go to any extent,” said Renbemo Patton, General Secretary of the RMSA 2016 teachers. Calling the government’s stand a “delay tactic”, he said, “They are still using the review petition as an excuse. If only they have the will, they could have implemented it by 2022 when the Gauhati High Court upheld the judgement.”
Imlitemjen Imchen, President of the association, said they were left with no choice but to continue their agitation. “We have fought enough legal battle. It is not time for us to deal with more court cases but to go back to our classrooms. We have been on court for seven years already,” he told MT. “We also don’t know how long the review petition will take up at the Supreme Court of India, and over the past seven years, we have lost many of our lives.”
Legal battle background
According to the president, the dispute dates back to 2018 when an Office Memorandum directed that the RMSA 2016 teachers’ salaries be reduced from Rs 31,315 to Rs 25,000, or face termination. The RMSA 2016 teachers challenged this through a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the Gauhati High Court, seeking to quash the Rs 25,000 salary order and to implement the full pay scale for their posts.
In 2020, a single-judge bench of the Gauhati High Court quashed the Office Memorandum and directed that the teachers’ original salary of Rs 31,315 be retained.
That same year, the RMSA 2016 teachers also filed a writ appeal seeking implementation of the regular scale pay for their posts. In March 2022, this appeal was allowed, with the Gauhati High Court ruling in their favor.
However, after the 90-day appeal window, the Government of Nagaland filed a Special Leave Petition (SLP) before the Supreme Court of India challenging the High Court order. The apex court reportedly referred the matter to the Nagaland Lokayukta for an out-of-court settlement, but the state government later said it would await the Supreme Court’s verdict. In May 2025, the Supreme Court dismissed the SLP and upheld the High Court’s judgment.
On August 14, 2025, the state government filed a review petition before the Supreme Court.
Why the stalemate continues
The government maintains that the judgment cannot be implemented as the matter is now “sub judice” due to the pending review petition. A tripartite meeting held on September 11 between representatives from All Nagaland School Teachers’ Association (ANSA), RMSA 2016 and the government ended without resolution. The government reportedly assured it would act according to the outcome of the review petition.
Principal Director of School Education (DoSE) Shashank Pratap Singh (IAS) urged the protesting RMSA Teachers 2016 to exercise patience.
Singh said, “The government has filed review petition in the apex court and has given written assurance that it will honour the final outcome. After this assurance, the teachers should resume their duties and go back to the classrooms.”
When asked about concerns over the time litigations may take, Singh expressed optimism, saying he hoped the matter would be resolved as soon as possible.
With the protest set to continue, he was also asked if there could be any alternative solution. “From an administrative point of view, the only solution I see is to wait for the court verdict and not be in haste — to facilitate any alternate solution, the teachers must end the agitation and then discuss with the government in congenial atmosphere. “ he said.
Teachers’ rejoinder
In a statement issued on Friday, the Nagaland RMSA Teachers’ Association (NRMSATA) called on the government to “stop hiding behind technicalities” and immediately bring the RMSA 2016 teachers on pay scale with 7th ROP benefit, calling anything less “continued exploitation”.
The association recalled that in 2018, the Centre had merged the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) and Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) into the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan, revising salary support to Rs 15,000 for primary, Rs 20,000 for graduate, and Rs 25,000 for secondary teachers, while directing states to meet the additional costs.
It argued that RMSA 2016 teachers were wrongly placed on a fixed pay of Rs 31,315 while SSA 2010 and 2013 and RMSA 2013 teachers were absorbed into the state system with 7th ROP pay scale. It said this amounted to discrimination despite equal qualifications and recruitment procedures.
The association noted that the Project Approval Board (PAB) had, as early as 2013, objected to Nagaland’s practice of linking teacher appointments to central funding, clarifying that paying teachers is the state’s permanent responsibility.
It added that the appointments were made through Cabinet approval with clearance from the Department of Personnel & Administrative Reforms (P&AR) and Department of Finance, Nagaland, and therefore could not be termed temporary. The teachers said the 2016 batch had been “singled out” despite a directive from the Government of India to appoint RMSA teachers on a regular basis.
“Dialogue without action only prolongs injustice,” it stated, urging the government to implement the court’s ruling without further delay.
