Photo Courtesy: Image by Pete Linforth from Pixabay | For representational purpose only
Moajungshi Menon
Teaching is more than completing a syllabus or conducting examinations. A teacher shapes character, nurtures curiosity, encourages dreams and helps prepare the next generation of doctors, engineers, lawyers, entrepreneurs, civil servants, scientists and responsible citizens. Almost every successful individual begins that journey in a classroom under the guidance of a teacher. The future of a society is therefore built not only in government offices and institutions, but in its classrooms.
Nagaland is fortunate to have thousands of government teachers who faithfully perform this responsibility. Many leave behind their families and the relative comforts of towns to serve in remote villages. They struggle with poor roads, limited healthcare, unreliable electricity, difficult transportation and inadequate accommodation. Their commitment deserves recognition. Their work often requires personal sacrifice and the contribution of such teachers to the future of Nagaland should never be underestimated. Yet alongside these dedicated educators exists a practice that quietly undermines public education which is the use of proxy teachers.
A proxy teacher is a person privately engaged by an officially appointed government teacher to perform the teaching duties of that teacher. The substitute does not hold the government appointment or qualifications, yet may effectively assume responsibility for the classroom while the appointed teacher remains away. This arrangement raises obvious questions of accountability. The government continues to pay the salary of the appointed employee, while students may be taught by someone who has not gone through the same recruitment, qualification and training requirements. The most important question here is not simply what the government loses but it is what the child loses.
For many economically weaker families, government schools remain their most accessible and affordable route to education. A family that cannot afford private school fees, transportation, uniforms and other expenses may have little practical alternative when the quality of education in the nearest government school declines. When an appointed teacher is absent and a proxy takes over, the consequences can extend beyond a missed lesson. Children may lose continuity in learning, fall behind in foundational skills and receive less consistent academic guidance. Over time, repeated disruption can affect confidence, attendance and educational opportunities.
The issue of proxy teaching is not merely a matter of public speculation. The Government of Nagaland has itself taken action against the practice. For instance, in November 2019, the Department of School Education conducted a verification drive across the state and detected 438 government teachers who had kept proxies in the place of their posting. The department described the practice as a violation of Rule 4 of the Nagaland Government Servants' Conduct Rules, 1968. In February 2020, the department directed those teachers to report to their respective schools and, as part of the monitoring exercise, submit photographic evidence of themselves at their schools and teaching in their classrooms. These figures matter because they establish that proxy teaching is not an imaginary or isolated allegation. It has been serious enough to require repeated intervention by the state's education authorities.
But numbers alone do not capture the real cost. Behind every absentee teacher is a classroom, behind every classroom are children and behind those children are families placing their hopes in education.
Every government teacher appointed through a competitive recruitment process should accept not only a salary and employment benefits but also the responsibilities attached to public service.
Remote postings are undoubtedly difficult. Teachers may face separation from their families, inadequate housing, transportation problems, difficult terrain and limited access to basic services. These are genuine concerns and should be addressed by the government. But these difficulties cannot be used to normalize proxy arrangements. An appointed teacher cannot simply transfer the responsibility of a public post to a privately hired substitute. A government teaching position is therefore more than a source of job security, social status or a future pension. It is a responsibility entrusted by the state on behalf of the public.
The question of teacher attendance becomes even more important when we look at the performance of government schools in the Nagaland Board of School Education examinations. The 2026 HSLC results present a worrying picture. Government schools recorded an overall pass percentage of 43.26 per cent, compared with 86.13 per cent for private schools, a difference of nearly 43 percentage points. The government-school HSLC pass percentage has also declined for three consecutive years, from 49.13 per cent in 2023 to 48.41 per cent in 2025 and 43.26 per cent in 2026.
These figures should not be used to claim that teacher absenteeism or proxy teaching alone causes poor examination results. Examination performance is influenced by many factors, including student attendance, parental support, socioeconomic circumstances, school infrastructure, learning resources, school leadership and the quality of teaching. But they should compel us to ask a difficult and fundamental question, how can we expect better results when children are not consistently receiving the teaching they are supposed to receive?
Regular, qualified and accountable teaching is one of the foundations on which learning is built. A child cannot perform at his or her best when the classroom itself is repeatedly deprived of the teacher assigned to teach there. A school may have a building, desks, textbooks and an officially sanctioned teaching post. But these alone cannot educate a child. The teacher must be present. The lesson must be taught. The child must be given the opportunity to learn.
A child who misses one lesson may catch up. But when poor teaching or teacher absenteeism becomes a pattern, the accumulated learning gap can become much harder to reverse. This is particularly important during the foundational years of schooling, when children develop literacy, numeracy, communication skills and learning habits that influence their education in later years. A child in a remote village should not receive a lower standard of public education simply because he or she was born far from an urban centre.
Thousands of government teachers in Nagaland continue to work sincerely under difficult conditions. Many travel long distances, live away from their families and serve communities where educational resources are limited. They should not have their reputation damaged because of the misconduct of others. The government therefore needs a system that distinguishes between sincere teachers and deliberate evasion of responsibility.
Addressing proxy teaching requires more than occasional inspections after complaints emerge. It requires a system in which attendance, accountability and classroom performance are consistently monitored. First, attendance systems should be transparent and difficult to manipulate. Biometric or technology-assisted attendance can be considered where infrastructure permits, while recognizing that technology alone cannot solve every problem in remote areas. Second, School Management Committees and local communities should have a meaningful role in monitoring whether teachers are actually present and teaching. Parents and community members are often the first to know when a classroom is regularly without its appointed teacher. Third, inspections should be regular rather than conducted only after allegations become public. Surprise inspections, attendance verification and periodic reviews can help identify persistent absenteeism. Fourth, disciplinary procedures should be timely and transparent. Where proxy teaching or deliberate absenteeism is established through due process, appropriate action should follow. Finally, teacher deployment itself should be reviewed periodically. Where there are genuine staffing shortages, the government should ensure that schools have adequate teachers rather than allowing classrooms to depend on informal arrangements.
Article 21A of the Constitution of India recognizes the right to free and compulsory education for children between six and fourteen years of age, while the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 provides the legislative framework for that right. The National Education Policy 2020 also places considerable emphasis on teacher quality and the importance of effective teaching in improving educational outcomes. These commitments cannot be meaningful if children regularly find that the teacher appointed to teach them is not present.
Education remains one of the most powerful means of social transformation. For a child from a poor family, a functioning government school can be the bridge between limited opportunity and a better future. That is why the proxy-teacher issue should not be treated merely as an employee-management dispute. It is fundamentally an issue of children's opportunity, public accountability and trust in the education system.
Every government teaching post carries a responsibility that goes far beyond a salary, a designation or a secured career. It carries the hopes of children who may have no other opportunity to change the course of their lives. A proxy may occupy a classroom, but no substitute can fully replace the responsibility, accountability and commitment entrusted to the teacher appointed by the state. The question before Nagaland is therefore not simply how many teachers are on the government payroll. It is how many are actually standing before their students, teaching them, guiding them and preparing them for the future.
The children of Nagaland should never have to pay the price for a teacher’s absence. If we truly believe that our children are the greatest investment we can make for the future of Nagaland, then the classroom must come first. Every teacher must be present, every child must have the opportunity to learn, and every public appointment must be honoured. Because the future of Nagaland is not waiting in some distant tomorrow but it is sitting in our classrooms today.
