Kohima: Hundreds of aspirants, led by the Combined Technical Association of Nagaland (CTAN) and the Nagaland NET Qualified Forum (NNQF), staged a protest outside the Directorate of Higher Education on Wednesday, challenging the state government’s decision to regularise 147 contractual Assistant Professors and Librarians.
Speaking to journalists outside the directorate, Videkhono, a core member of the NNQF, said the protestors had submitted a representation but were drawn into an impromptu discussion with department officials. “The officials went on and on explaining the justification for regularising the contractual employees. We were not satisfied and decided to walk out,” she said.
Meshenlo Kath, a core member of CTAN, reiterated that their objective was to submit a formal representation, not to participate in a meeting. “They kept repeating that the teachers were regularised out of compulsion. We are not protesting against those who have been serving since before 2016. Our concern is with the appointments made after 2016. During times of teacher shortage, they were appointed on an ad-hoc basis—but how were these posts created for absorption? Why weren’t they advertised through the proper channels?” he questioned.
He further added that not a single one of the 147 contractual posts had been advertised, thereby denying equal opportunity to qualified candidates.
Noyingbeni, a research scholar from Nagaland University, shared a personal account of the challenges faced by NET-qualified candidates. “I came home for field work, but this issue came up and I felt responsible to join the protest. The system has failed us. I remember crying when I could not clear NET—that was the severity of the examination. Eventually, I cleared it. But even in my department, only two posts are advertised annually—and one is reserved, so essentially we compete for one. Last year, there was no advertisement. This year, with the regularisation, there’s no hope for this year as well.”
She added that the lack of new advertisements risks sidelining a generation of qualified, aspiring educators in Nagaland.
What is the government’s response?
In response, Ex-officio Director Lovitoly Sema stated in a letter to protestors that the Assistant Professors and Librarians appointed after June 6, 2016 were engaged on a fixed pay basis under exigent circumstances and were filling non-sanctioned posts.
Sema clarified that the currently available sanctioned vacancies have already been requisitioned to the Nagaland Public Service Commission (NPSC) and that there are no additional posts left to requisition at this time.
However, protestors have questioned how individuals appointed to non-sanctioned posts after 2016 could be regularised without due process.
The CTAN and NNQF have cautioned that if the government fails to revoke Order No. HTE/HE/13-3/2020(Pt-1)104, dated December 17, 2024, which regularised the contractual faculty, and does not requisition the concerned posts to the NPSC, they will initiate an indefinite office lockdown at the Directorate of Higher Education starting April 17, 2025.
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