The Nagaland government has decided to revert 33 teachers to their original postings in the state’s eastern districts to address a growing crisis in schools caused by recent staff rationalisation. The move comes after widespread protests highlighted severe shortages of subject teachers.

The decision was taken during an emergency meeting chaired by Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio on Wednesday, which included ministers, legislators from eastern districts, senior bureaucrats, and officials from the School Education Department.

The Eastern Nagaland Students’ Federation (ENSF) had led protests in Mon, Tuensang, Kiphire, Longleng, Noklak, and Shamator, shutting schools and offices due to the transfer of teachers that left classrooms without essential subject instructors. The unrest affected thousands of students.

Officials noted that the six eastern districts have 606 government schools, 45,174 students, and 4,733 teachers, resulting in a pupil-teacher ratio of 10:1. However, the rationalisation had created shortages in key subjects including Maths, Science, and Hindi.

To address the shortage, the government announced that all newly appointed Maths and Science teachers will be posted directly to schools in eastern districts. Existing subject teachers will be redeployed to their native districts, vacant posts will be converted into subject-specific roles, and new recruitment will be conducted through open advertisement.

In the meantime, the department will explore community-based engagement of teachers until permanent deployments are in place. Officials added that future rationalisation exercises will involve consultations with elected representatives and district administrations to prevent uneven impacts.

Following these commitments, the ENSF suspended its ongoing agitation and agreed to hold detailed discussions with the government on September 20.