DIMAPUR, JUNE 4 (MExN): Stating its position on the demand for bifurcation by ANSTA and NSSFOF, the Nagaland Government Higher Secondary School Employees Association (NGHSSEA) today said that matter such as bifurcation requires a policy decision, a domain of the Government, and therefore inappropriate for any organisation to force the Government to adopt a specific policy.
“If the Government finds merit to take further bifurcation, the association would suggest adopting the National Pattern, NPE 1986, for better management of Government Schools, the interest of the students and quality education,” a press statement appended by NGHSSEA office bearers stated.
Elaborating further, the association said the Department of School Education is one of the oldest and biggest in the state, and has been bifurcated into several sister departments over the years such as Higher Education and Technical Education, SCERT, Sports and Youth Resources etc to “meet the needs of the time.”
In this regard, the association maintained that it would be worthwhile for the Government to carefully examine such demands, as it would have “far-fetched impact on the education of students,” especially in Government Schools.
“If bifurcation would bring quality education, such an exercise will be appreciated and accepted by all,” it maintained.
On the quality of education in government schools, the association contended that with the rapid expansion of the department, it is clearly visible that DoSE is in the process of large-scale transition which requires time to “stabilise the system.”
However, arguing that providing quality education should be the most important priority of all stakeholders, it called for “serious introspection” from all the Government teachers on low performance, especially at higher level.
Noting that several government schools and teachers are still lagging far behind the private schools, the association said two issues could boosts a school’s performance-management of the school under one unified control and the formation of composite schools – implying that fragmentation of school resulted in bad performances.
If quality education and output are desired, the Government may consider the setting up of composite schools, i.e., from Class A- Class 10/12,” it said, as it would enable the teachers and administrators to monitor and nurture the students over a longer period “like in private schools.”
Regarding the promotion avenues of the teachers, the association informed that as per the Restructuring and Revamping of School Education 2011 and Revised School Education Service rules 2002, each section has different channels of promotion line, thereby separate seniority list of cadres.
“It is the considered view of the NGHSSEA that restructuring 2011 exercise was done with good intentions by the Government but it requires immediate amendment of certain sections.”
The Higher Secondary section was allocated with only one post of Joint Director out of 19, which created bottleneck and stagnation for the DDEOs/ Deputy Directors as there is only one post in the joint Director level, it cited while adding, some other sections are also facing disproportionate allocation of posts obstructing upward mobility.
Other sections such as Hindi, Language, Physical Education Teachers, RMSA, and SSA should also be considered while creating promotional avenues, it advocated.
Apart from this, Primary Teachers, which constitutes about 60% of the total strength of teachers, should be considered for promotion avenues, the association further said. “Most Primary Teachers join and retire as teachers which can be a big de-motivating factor.”
To solve the current imbroglio, the NGHSSEA also suggested amending the 2011 restructuring and revamping rule in a time bound manner by constituting a High Power Committee to rectify current anomalies; a new Service Rules to meet the requirement of the present situation; and introduction of State Education Service to train and bring up administrators to manage the department.
