Dimapur, August 7 (MExN): The Nagaland NET Qualified Forum (NNQF) has submitted a memorandum to the Chief Secretary and the Minister of Higher Education objecting to Point No. 9 of the All Nagaland Government College Teachers Association (ANGCTA) Charter of Demands, which seeks regularisation of guest, adhoc and contract teachers.
The forum said the demand was “wholly unacceptable” in the context of Nagaland, pointing to the statewide protests against the attempted regularisation of 147 Assistant Professors and Librarians, which it stated is “a clear mandate against backdoor appointments and in favour of merit-based recruitment.”
Recruitment to the posts of Assistant Professor and Librarian in government colleges in the state is governed by the recruitment rules of the Government of Nagaland and UGC regulations, with selection carried out by the Nagaland Public Service Commission (NPSC) through the Combined Educational Services Examination (CESE), the memorandum said.
The NNQF said the NPSC CESE must remain the sole recruitment mechanism for such appointments, and that no individual could claim a regular post by bypassing the process. Regularising contractual appointments would undermine the NPSC's credibility and deprive NET, SET and PhD-qualified aspirants of their right to compete, it said.
The forum alleged that a substantial number of contractual appointments in the Higher Education Department were made without public advertisement or open competitive selection, denying many eligible candidates the chance to apply. Regularising such appointments would amount to legitimising backdoor entry into public service, it said.
The memorandum noted that appointments to government colleges and universities fall under different statutory frameworks and appointing authorities, and argued that a blanket demand for regularisation across universities and colleges could not be applied uniformly to government colleges in Nagaland.
The NNQF clarified it had no objection to any other point in ANGCTA's charter of demands, only to Point No. 9.
The forum put forth six demands before the state government — rejecting any proposal to regularize or absorb guest, adhoc or contract teachers in government colleges of Nagaland; rejecting the implementation of Point No. 9 of the ANGCTA Charter of Demands in Nagaland; termination of the services of the 147 Contract Assistant Professor in Government Colleges of Nagaland, and creation of post against these 147 immediately; Upholding NPSC CESE as the sole recruitment mechanism for appointment to the posts of Assistant Professor and Librarian in government colleges of Nagaland; ensuring all existing and future vacancies are filled only through open advertisement and competitive recruitment conducted by the Nagaland Public Service Commission; and reviewing all contractual appointments made without public advertisement or open competitive selection and take appropriate action wherever the prescribed recruitment process has not been followed.
The forum questioned why ANGCTA continued to press for absorption or regularisation of guest and adhoc teachers, noting that the state government had already addressed the matter following protests over the 2025 regularisation of 147 assistant professors, and that the issue was currently before the courts.
The NNQF cautioned that any attempt to implement Point No. 9 or bypass the NPSC CESE through regularisation or absorption could prompt its members to launch statewide protests, similar to the earlier agitation against the regularisation of the 147 Assistant Professors and librarians. It added that it reserved the right to pursue all lawful remedies to ensure appointments to public posts are made strictly through the prescribed recruitment process.
“Public employment is not a privilege to be regularised, it is a constitutional opportunity to be earned through merit, transparency and fair competition,” the forum said.
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