Protesters demand revocation of Nagaland government order on contractual posts

Protestors during a sit-in outside the directorate of Higher Education in Kohima on Wednesday. (EM Images)

• KOHIMA — Braving sun and rain, hundreds of aspirants turned up at a sit-in outside the Directorate of Higher Education, Kohima, on Wednesday, demanding the revocation of the government’s move to regularise 147 contractual posts of assistant professors and librarians on Dec. 17, 2024.
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• The protest was spearheaded by the Combined Technical Association of Nagaland (CTAN) and the Nagaland Net Qualified Forum (NNQF).
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• During the protest, the organisers submitted a memorandum each to the chief secretary and to the directorate of Higher Education.

Also read: NNQF, CTAN demand revocation of controversial order

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• It demanded from the department immediate requisition to NPSC of all assistant professor/librarian posts filled on contract after June 6, 2016, and warned of continuing the agitation till action is taken.
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• In response, the directorate of Higher Education stated that "the assistant professors/librarian vacancies available have already been requisitioned to the NPSC. As of now, there are no posts to be requisitioned to NPSC.”
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• Further, “the assistant professors/librarian appointed after 06.06.2016 were engaged on an exigency fixed pay basis against non-sanctioned posts”, V Lovitoly Sema, ex-officio director, stated in response.
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• Lock threat
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• However, the protestors "rejected” the response. In its counter response, the CTAN and NNFQ stated that they will “lock down the office” of the directorate of Higher Education starting April 17 if the latter fails to revoke the order and to requisition the posts as demanded.
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• It went on to question how they were regularised/absorbed if the assistant professors/librarians appointed after 06/06/16 were engaged on exigency fixed pay against non-sanctioned posts.
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• They accused the department officials of speaking in favour of the absorption/regularisation.
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• “We went to give our representation, but when we discussed the matter, it made us angrier, so we walked out,” Meshenlo Kath, CTAN convener, said.
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• Reportedly, the department claimed that the regularisations were made based on the student demands—in order to meet shortages.
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• To this, Kath questioned how the posts were created suddenly. He further clarified that the recent chief secretary’s letter was only for nullifying the transfer and posting. It did not retract the absorption of the assistant professors and librarians.
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• "The people in power are trying to manipulate things or corrupt the whole system in such a way that people do not have a voice anymore to speak out,” he said.
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• 'Demanding what is ours'
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• Videkhono, a core member of NNQF, asserted that nothing short of revoking the absorption order will solve the issue.
  
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• A representative from the National Institute of Technology said that he was “agitated” because of the opportunities being “snatched right in front of our eyes.”
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• In a strong message to the minister of Higher Education, he said: "The corruption that is happening right under your nose – this is not going to happen.”
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• Another representative from Nagaland University, Lumami, also said that their education is "useless" if they remain silent when injustice prevails.
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• System failure
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• Noyinbeni M Odyuo, a research scholar at Nagaland University, said that she felt responsible to be at the protest because the system has “failed us miserably.”
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• “Even if we finish our PhD, if this continues, then there will be more qualified and educated people who will not have any opportunity. So, I'm here because I am against a system that has failed us,” she said.
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• The protestors raised slogans and demanded “justice and meritocracy.”
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• Representatives from the Library Association of Nagaland, NU Research Scholars’ Forum, Kohima, Naga Research Scholars Forum, Shillong, Tripura University, all the 14 associations under CTAN, NIT, etc., also participated in the protest.