Wokha: Students' union shuts govt schools, SDEO office over teacher gap

Government schools across the Middle Range area of Wokha district in Nagaland were shut on Monday after the Lotha Middle Range Students' Union (LMRSU) restarted its agitation over a shortage of teachers at Government Higher Secondary School (GHSS), Sungro.

The union ordered all government schools under its jurisdiction, along with the office of the Sub-Divisional Education Officer (SDEO) at Sanis, to close with immediate effect. Northeast Today reported that 32 schools were affected by the shutdown.

Why the union escalated

Speaking to reporters at Sanis, LMRSU president Rhonbemo Murry said the union had been raising the issue since March 2025, when an inspection found too few teachers in schools in the area. He said memoranda, representations and a 48-hour ultimatum served on November 3, which asked for a written assurance, had produced only verbal promises from the Department of School Education.

GHSS Sungro has 153 students in Classes 6 to 12 drawn from seven villages of the Sungro Range, and is one of the largest government higher secondary schools in Wokha district after GHSS Wokha. Students had earlier sealed the school for several days over the same grievance.

What the union is asking for

The LMRSU wants additional postgraduate and graduate teachers in several subjects, including English and Hindi, proper staffing for the higher secondary section, retention of key teaching posts, and the appointment of non-teaching staff such as an LDA-cum-UDA and a science laboratory attendant.

Murry said irregular teaching in several subjects had hurt students. He accepted that qualified Lotha language teachers are hard to find, but said the problem went well beyond language classes.

The union rejected the department's recent offer of interim arrangements, saying temporary deployments would not solve the problem and that only permanent appointments would give students continuity.

Warning of a third phase

The LMRSU said it could move to a third phase of agitation if its demands are not met, which may include extending the shutdown to private schools and restricting vehicle movement in the Middle Range area. Murry added that the union was still open to talks and wanted to see concrete steps from the department.

The union also flagged that two teachers transferred in August to Government Primary School, Pangti Sector A, had not yet joined their posts despite the shortage in the area.

There was no immediate response from the Department of School Education to the shutdown.