Kohima, Nagaland, April 16 (HBTV): A storm of protest erupted in the state capital today as the Combine Technical Association of Nagaland (CTAN) and the Nagaland Net Qualified Forum (NNQF) launched a joint demonstration outside the Higher Education department at the Nagaland Civil Secretariat in Kohima.
The groups are demanding the immediate revocation of a controversial government order dated December 17, 2024, which they claim undermines transparency, fairness, and constitutional recruitment norms.
At the heart of the controversy is the state government’s decision to absorb 147 assistant professors and librarians into the Higher Education department. Protesters argue that the move is a clear violation of Article 16 of the Indian Constitution, NPSC Rule 9(4), and the Office Memorandum issued by the Personnel and Administrative Reforms (P&AR) Department on June 6, 2016, which prohibits contract-based appointments to government posts.
Hundreds of qualified aspirants gathered in solidarity, waving placards and voicing their anger against what they called “backdoor appointments.”
Leaders of CTAN and NNQF met with officials from the Higher Education Department to discuss a memorandum they had earlier submitted, reiterating their demands for justice and transparency. A copy of the same memorandum was also submitted to the Chief Secretary of Nagaland on April 10.
Later in the evening, the Higher Education Department issued a formal response, stating that the appointments made after June 6, 2016, were on a fixed-pay basis, made out of exigency and against non-sanctioned posts.
The department further stated that all the sanctioned vacancies had already been requisitioned to the Nagaland Public Service Commission, leaving no current vacancies for requisition.
Rejecting the explanation, CTAN and NNQF questioned how such appointees were regularised without proper requisition through NPSC, calling the justification vague and unsatisfactory. They reiterated their demand to revoke government order dated December 17, 2024, and demanded that the posts filled after June 6, 2016, be properly routed through the NPSC.
The organizations have announced a total lockdown of the Higher Education department beginning tomorrow, April 17, declaring that the agitation will continue until justice is delivered and ‘meritocracy’ restored.