The statement “An army marches on its stomach” is attributed to the legendary French Commander Napoleon Bonaparte. Napoleon was a man who fought wars all his life and he understood all too well that it takes much more than mere weaponry, size, skills, or training to make an army effective, efficient or powerful. Ultimately it all boils down to the food supply and how well-fed an army is because no matter how big, well-equipped or skilful an army is, no soldier can fight on an empty stomach.
So this avowal of Napoleon Bonaparte meant that behind the size, weapons, skill and leadership of an army, the real sustaining force is the food supply which needs to be not only palatable to the tongue but also nourishing, morale boosting and timely. For us the Nagas, we don’t need to go far to realize the truth of this statement. During the famous Kohima Battle of 1944, one of the primary reasons why the Japanese could not carry on with their war efforts was because their food supply could not keep pace with the progress of the soldiers as they marched into Naga lands. On the other hand, the Britishers slowly gained the upper-hand and ultimately withstood the Japanese onslaught because their food supply did not fail them as their kitchen was replenished regularly.
Whether it is in a war situation or any other human endeavor/ mission, it all boils down to the basic necessities of life. What are the basic necessities of life? The basic necessities of man have always been food, clothing and shelter. When these needs are taken care of and an individual does not have to worry about these, he can go out, pursue his dreams and conquer the world. But even if an individual is endowed with all the requisite intellect, talent, skill and motivation, he cannot do anything if first these basic needs are not provided to him as he would be handicapped in the absence of proper nutrition, suitable clothing and a decent roof above his head.
Recently I came across media reports about the inauguration of the Nagaland Police Officers’ Mess and Non- Gazetted Officers’ (NGO) Mess at Police Complex, Chümoukedima. These were very heart-warming news and I wish to congratulate the Nagaland state government for these initiatives and achievements. These government endeavors are very much in tune with the adage pronounced by Napoleon Bonaparte more than 200 years ago because whether it is the army or police personnel, they cannot carry out their assigned work effectively on an empty stomach. And why just nutrition, police personnel also need clothing and shelter. This is why we have uniforms and barracks for them.
But today I do not wish to highlight just the basic needs of the police personnel. Rather I wish to bring to the fore some of the issues concerning the govt. teachers of Nagaland who perform some very noble and indispensible duties. If the police personnel are entrusted to maintain law and order, make us feel safe and protect us from antisocial and unscrupulous elements, the teachers play an even more important role in the society. The teachers are entrusted to shape young minds, mould the dreams and aspirations of the youngsters and produce responsible citizens. So, if the govt. is concerned about the basic needs of the police personnel, the govt. should also look into the basic requirements of the teachers since the state govt. is contemplating to carry out many new policies and programs in our education sector.
The government teachers have always been at the receiving end of the public’s outcry and fury. The people say that govt. teachers are overpaid but underworked. The public also say that govt. teachers are insincere, irregular, irresponsible and uncommitted which result in the very pathetic performance of the students in the exams. All these may be true to a certain extent.
In the midst of all these allegations, the education department is mulling to carry out some very drastic steps. The first of these is the so-called “rationalization” whereby the department intends to carry out mass transfer of teachers to fill up the schools where there is shortage of teachers. Another announcement made by the education department is its intent to transfer and redeploy a govt. teacher to a new school in a new district after every 4–5 years. Through this arrangement, the government wants to ensure that a govt. teacher is just not confined to a single school throughout his entire career but that he roams around rendering his service to different schools all over Nagaland before retirement.
The education department may have good noble intent in mulling over these arrangements. But here again, I can’t help but ponder over the proverb given by Napoleon and also about the three basic needs of man i.e. food, clothing and shelter. And somehow, I also get a feeling that our government is now planning to treat the government teachers also like soldiers and police personnel.
So incase the government intends to treat government teachers also like army and police personnel, then it should also provide to the teachers all the privileges and amenities which it provides to its armed personnel so that the govt. teachers can also go and serve in any nook and corner of our land without having to worry about their basic needs.
And what are these facilities, privileges and amenities that should be provided to the teachers? First the govt. should construct circuit houses exclusively for govt. teachers in every district. Then the government can also come up with barrack-like infrastructure for the teachers where they can easily check in and find refuge as and when they are transferred and redeployed. Mess facility should also be provided at these places. Only when a teacher does not have to worry about food, clothing or shelter wherever he goes can he do justice to his noble profession. And only after these facilities are provided to the teachers should the government and the public also hold the teachers accountable for any failings or shortcomings on their parts.
The army or police personnel are always at the beckon call of their high command and they can be transferred and deployed to any place any time if the situation so demands. And this is why we have camps, barracks and mess-facility for the army and police in every districts and administrative units because they also cannot deliver service unless their three primary needs (food, clothing and shelter) are met first.
So, if the education department wishes to carry out mass transfer of teachers or rotate the teachers in different schools under different districts on roster basis every 4- 5 years, I feel that the government should first set in place the needed infrastructure. If a teacher (no matter how well he is paid) is made to worry about his basic necessities every now and then, the education delivery process would be surely compromised. This is so because it is not a joke to go to a totally new environment every now and then and arrange for one’s basic needs.
Along with the army and police personnel, another section of the government who are also regularly transferred and redeployed are the administrative officers. These officers are also, in a way, always at the beckon call of the government as they are also required to serve in different postings under different districts. But here again, the government can justify the frequent transfers and deployments of the administrative officers because the infrastructure and the needed personnel are already in place. Whenever an administrative officer is deployed to a new place, the official quarter, the official driver, cook, personal assistant and clerk are already there waiting for him. So this same yardstick should be applied in the case of the government teachers also.
Transferring and redeploying the govt. teachers like the administrative officers, army and police personnel without first taking care of the basic needs of the education-providers would be tantamount to playing double standard games or giving step-motherly treatment to the teachers. And such a scenario will only breed comparisons and resentments amongst govt. servants. And in such an atmosphere no policy, however good and noble it may appear on paper, will ever achieve its desired goal (rather it will only backfire). At the end of the day, the teachers are also only humans who can contribute their fullest potential only when they do not have to worry about how to eat and where to lay down their heads.
Therefore, only after the government can set in place these infrastructure and facilities, it should carry out the proposed mass transfer and regular re-deployment of teachers. This is so because carrying out mass transfer and mass deployment of teachers after every couple of years without first providing for their basic requirements would be like sending soldiers to the warfront on empty stomachs.
