Moa Jamir
By all account, the past week was eventful as our languid State Government interspersed it with some notable proclamations, which resonated positively with the public.
It included the announcement for cracking the whip on substitute teachers by Minister of School Education and a circular banning all appointments on a contractual basis or backdoor appointment.
The Minister for Health & Family Welfare urging doctors to serve the underprivileged and under- served areas and the Secretary for Land Resources Department call for reviving communitisation process for a better delivery system of public welfare and services were also encouraging.
Nevertheless, for a vigilant observer, it was a déjà vu. Such lip-servicing has become convenient modus operandi for the government over the years to thwart any pressure from public. The menace of substitute teachers (proxy and bogus) has been a perennial issue over the years but so far no tangible outcome can be seen despite such repetitive declarations.
It is no surprise that as early as July 2013, the then Nagaland Minister for School Education, CM Chang mooted the idea of introducing framed photos of every teachers in all the government schools to do away with the menace in government schools across the state.
At around this time last year, the Director of School Education has warned that “if such practices of engaging proxy teachers by any employee are detected the department would initiate stern disciplinary action.”
Self-evidently, it has become a routine exercise.
Ditto for contractual or backdoor appointments. In February 2015, the State Chief Secretary, CJ Ponraj cautioning against backdoor appointment directed all departments to place their requisition for filling up of vacant posts of their respective departments to the NPSC without failure.
Obviously, it does not elicit any positive changes if one has go by the latest State Government (Personnel & Administrative Reforms department) office memorandum (OM) dated June 6, 2016, which ‘once again’ banned all ad-hoc/casual/temporary/work-charged appointments. “Over the years, the pre-conditions for making appointments on contract basis were not adhered to in most cases, resulting in irregularities in such appointments and their extensions,” it noted.
Such a scenario is lucidly depicted as a “desired state of creative inertia" in an episode entitled, ‘Big Brother’ in the critically acclaimed 1980s BBC satirical sitcom, ‘Yes Minister!’ dealing with the willy-nilly world of politics and unflappable bureaucracy.
An oxymoron, ‘creative inertia’, was implied as a state of affairs seemingly bursting with activities, but without any actual changes – a usual delaying tactics used as an escape route from burning issues or circumstances.
Devoid of any rectification, platitudinous statements by those at the helms of affairs can be considered as the highest condition of ‘creative inertia.’ Conversely, if such statements were taken by their face values, Nagaland would have been the most transparent and developed state in the country – a Shangri-La. But, the truth is stranger than fiction.
Cynicism apart, the acknowledgment from the higher up is at least an acceptance that the problems are assuming a magnitude proportion. Taken literally, an open declaration may also signify the helplessness of the government to undertake course correction due to pressure from various ‘non-state’ actors, thereby eliciting public support.
The government must demonstrate some concrete action on the ground this time around to gain the public confidence. Otherwise, spare them from such charade and lip-servicing.
Any front-door or backdoor comments are welcome at moajamir@live.com
