Kohima: Nagaland Chief Minister Dr. Neiphiu Rio says the state's government schools maintain a 7:1 pupil-teacher ratio. This beats the national average of 24:1. It also falls well under the NEP 2020 benchmark of 30:1. The Chief Minister addressed these figures during the 9th session of the 14th Nagaland Legislative Assembly after an inquiry from MLA A Nyamnyei Konyak.
Rio claims there is no state-wide teacher shortage. However, he admitted that staffing needs fluctuate between schools. Recent rationalization efforts cut the total number of government schools from 1,939 down to 1,881. Currently, 359 schools serve fewer than 10 students, while 819 schools have under 25 pupils. The government mandates specific staffing patterns only for schools with more than 25 students.
The Chief Minister defended this selective staffing approach. "Therefore, it would not be appropriate to mechanically assign the minimum staffing pattern to schools with only two or three students," Rio said. He promised to reassess the rationalization process in remote regions to protect educational access.
Official vacancy counts are not fixed by district quotas. Recruitment follows school-specific demand and established staffing patterns from March 2022. Currently, 70 PGT posts await exam results from the NPSC. Another 182 posts, including roles for Math, Science, and Hindi teachers, are pending PIMS clearance. Twenty-two legacy vacancies remain unfilled despite recruitment attempts dating back to 2016, including spots reserved for persons with disabilities.
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