Dimapur: Nagaland govt on Wednesday initiated “concrete steps” to resolve the long-pending grievances of the Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) teachers, belonging to the 2016 batch, regarding their demand for pay parity with their counterparts from other states, lack of job security and delay in mainstreaming them into the state cadre.

The govt has set up a high-level committee and has also decided to constitute a sub-committee to study their demands.

In an official notification, issued on Wednesday, the govt said two successive meetings were convened in September by the school education department to address the impasse.

The first meeting was held on September 18, under the chairmanship of the principal secretary to the CM & home commissioner Abhijit Sinha at the secretariat, with officials from the school education department, Samagra Shiksha, finance and justice & law departments, All Nagaland School Teachers Association (ANSTA) and representatives of the RMSA 2016 batch present during the meet.

The meeting examined the background of the issue, including non-implementation of the Gauhati high court’s judgment on scale pay and constraints faced by the state govt. During the meeting, RMSA representatives voiced concerns over the non-fulfilment of their demands.

Acknowledging the seriousness of the issue, the govt proposed constituting a high-level committee with officials and stakeholders to study their demands.

Following up on this, a second meeting was convened on Tuesday by the commissioner & secretary, school education, Kevileno Angami.

While the RMSA representatives presented their charter of demands, it was decided that a high-level committee will be constituted, with representatives from the school education department, Samagra Shiksha, finance and justice & law departments, along with members from ANSTA and RMSA.

It was also decided that a sub-committee, headed by the school education department, comprising officials and representatives from ANSTA and RMSA will be formed. The sub-committee has been tasked to study the demands and prepare a preliminary report for submission to the high-level committee. The process is expected to be completed within six months.