Kohima: The Lotha Middle Range Students Union has locked down all government schools under its jurisdiction and the office of the Sub-Divisional Education Officer in Sanis. This move marks the second phase of an agitation that began on November 2. Students and village councils remain frustrated by persistent staff shortages.
Government officials met on November 9 to address the crisis. Principal Director of School Education Shashank Pratap Singh chaired the session. The department promised one Political Science Post Graduate Teacher as a stop-gap arrangement. Officials also claimed an English teacher would return from maternity leave on November 10. They committed to posting one Graduate Teacher during future staff rationalization efforts. The department directed the principal to assign duties according to the Nagaland School Education Service Rules, 2017.
Union president Rhonbemo Murry rejected the government response as insufficient. He noted that the school, which serves 153 students, faces a critical lack of faculty across multiple subjects. One Post Graduate Teacher in Political Science will be posted at GHSS Sungro "against maternity leave as a stop-gap arrangement at the earliest."
The union demands a total of five Post Graduate Teachers, one English Graduate Teacher, three general Graduate Teachers, and one Hindi Graduate Teacher. Murry highlighted that while some schools with seven students have 20 teachers, GHSS Sungro struggles to cover classes. He pointed to a specific deployment error at Government Primary School, Pangti Sector A, where teachers are working at the wrong campus due to vague transfer orders.
Agitators issued a final warning. They demand written assurances by November 10. Failure to comply could trigger a third phase of protests. This may include closing private schools and blocking vehicular traffic across the Middle Range.
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