Mizoram govt agrees to separate HS & HSS

Aizawl, Oct 17: The Mizoram government has decided to bifurcate high school and higher secondary school, a long-standing demand of the Mizoram Secondary School Teachers' Association(MISSTA).

In appreciation of the government's move, the association has decided to suspend its ongoing no-teaching agitation from today till October 31. They will decide their next course of action after October 31, which will depend on whether or not the government revokes its warning to MISSTA president.

A MISSTA statement today said their other demands included 20 days' earned leave(since they did not enjoy a full vacation in 2006), condonation for teachers who had appeared for the B Ed training but did not succeed due to certain difficulties, restructure of pay scale for high school teachers based on their qualification, restructuring of rules for recruitment of headmasters, gazetted status for secondary teachers and separation of science promotion wing from SCERT, which were being considered by the government.

Nevertheless, the happiness of the secondary teachers is not in full as the government has allegedly refused to revoke its 'warning' to MISSTA president. MISSTA president had informed the central authorities of the Mizoram SSA's failure to pay funds for text books to Endala Middle School's students which the Mizoram government termed as baseless and issued a warning to him.

UNI