NSF opposes regularisation of COVID-era MOs; issues ultimatum
Kohima, December 20 (MExN): Notwithstanding two High Court rulings that have so far upheld the policy, the Naga Students’ Federation (NSF) on Friday opposed the Nagaland Government’s decision to regularise medical officers (MOs), terming it “arbitrary and unconstitutional.”
Consequently, the Federation demanded the immediate “revocation of all notifications pertaining to the regularisation of MOs/Junior Specialists and other health workers appointed during the COVID-19 pandemic,” including the Directorate of Health and Family Welfare notification dated December 16.
The notification provided for the regularisation of 97 MOs appointed during the COVID-19 pandemic, citing the Kohima High Court’s December 11 ruling, among others.
Accordingly, in an ultimatum served to the Nagaland Chief Secretary, the NSF demanded the requisitioning of all 280 posts to the Nagaland Public Service Commission and the Nagaland Staff Selection Board, seeking recruitment strictly through open, advertised and competitive examinations, in accordance with existing service rules, within 45 days.
It further reiterated its demand for the implementation of special provisions, such as grace marks and one-time age relaxation, exclusively for COVID-19 appointees, as earlier recommended by the Federation, to be applied within the framework of open competition.
As per the NSF, it was constrained to issue the “unequivocal ultimatum” due to what it called the State Government’s “persistent disregard for constitutional provisions, established recruitment rules and repeated representations… concerning the illegal regularisation of contractual health workers appointed during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
It further pointed out that, at the relevant juncture, the Federation had engaged the State Government in good faith and with constructive intent, and had categorically registered strong objections to any proposal seeking regularisation of COVID-19 pandemic appointees through any mechanism outside the constitutional mandate of the Nagaland Public Service Commission (NPSC) and the Nagaland Staff Selection Board (NSSB).
However, the NSF contended that despite these reasoned and principled representations, the State Government has chosen to completely ignore the aspirations of thousands of qualified Naga youth and the Federation’s repeated recommendations.
The measures proposed by the NSF, it stated, would both recognise the service rendered during the pandemic and simultaneously safeguard the sanctity of open competitive recruitment.
Accordingly, it noted with “grave concern” that the State Government has gone ahead and regularised the services of 97 medical officers despite all objections, through the December 16 notification.
The action followed earlier attempts by the Department through a notification dated August 18, which sought to regularise 97 contractual MOs/Junior Specialists along with other health workers, totalling 280 posts, through a “mere departmental screening process,” it added.
These actions were described as “arbitrary, unconstitutional and legally untenable.”
To buttress its argument, the NSF stated that the Nagaland Health Service Rules, 2006 clearly stipulate that “recruitment to Class-I Gazetted posts must be conducted strictly through the NPSC by way of duly advertised competitive examinations.”
By regularising MOs outside the scrutiny of the NPSC, the Directorate of Health and Family Welfare has “wilfully bypassed the rule of law and violated the fundamental principle of equal opportunity in public employment as enshrined in the Constitution of India,” it alleged.
Meanwhile, the NSF noted that between 2015 and 2024, the State managed to recruit only 61 MOs through the NPSC, while Nagaland produces over 150 MBBS graduates annually.
In stark contrast, it added, 97 medical officers were regularised in one stroke without providing equal opportunity to the vast pool of qualified aspirants who have been preparing for years for open examinations.
The NSF also conveyed that it “unequivocally acknowledges and respects the invaluable services rendered by doctors and healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic,” but argued that the “terms and conditions of their engagement explicitly stated that their appointments were purely temporary, for a fixed duration of one year, and would not confer any claim to regularisation under any circumstances.”
To now convert these temporary, emergency engagements into permanent appointments amounts to legitimising backdoor entry into government service, it added.
The Federation further stated that it had never advocated injustice or exclusion, but had instead proposed “balanced and lawful alternatives,” including grace marks and one-time age relaxation for COVID-19 appointees, to be implemented strictly through open competitive recruitment conducted by the NPSC and NSSB.
These recommendations, it said, would have ensured recognition of pandemic service without compromising merit, legality or equal opportunity.
Accordingly, the NSF served the ultimatum, which it categorically stated was in the “interest of justice, constitutional propriety and the future of Naga youth.”
“Any further attempt by the State Government to bypass due process, dilute recruitment norms, or legitimise backdoor appointments will compel the Federation to initiate strong democratic resistance,” it declared, urging the Chief Secretary’s office to “decisively and immediately correct this unconstitutional course of action within the legal framework governing public recruitment.”
