Nagaland NET Qualified Forum rejects ANGCTA demand to regularise college teachers

The Nagaland NET Qualified Forum (NNQF) has submitted a memorandum to the Nagaland Chief Secretary and the Minister for Higher Education, opposing Point No. 9 in the charter of demands of the All Nagaland Government College Teachers’ Association (ANGCTA). The point seeks regularisation of guest, ad hoc and contract teachers.

NNQF calls the regularisation demand “wholly unacceptable”

In its submission dated August 7, the NNQF said the proposal would affect merit-based recruitment and the role of the Nagaland Public Service Commission (NPSC). The forum argued that people of Nagaland had already rejected similar efforts during statewide protests in 2025 against an attempted regularisation of assistant professors and librarians.

The NNQF said recruitment for assistant professor and librarian posts in government colleges is governed by the state’s recruitment rules and UGC regulations. It maintained that appointments should be made only through the NPSC Combined Educational Services Examination (CESE). The forum also said no appointment should be claimed as regular by bypassing the CESE process.

Claim of contract appointments without open selection

The forum alleged that a number of higher education department contractual appointments were made without public advertisement or an open competitive selection process. It said this can deprive eligible candidates of the chance to apply and argues that regularising such appointments would legitimise what it called backdoor entry into public service.

NNQF also pointed out that government colleges and universities follow different statutory frameworks and that a blanket regularisation demand across institutions is not appropriate. It said it has no objection to the rest of ANGCTA’s charter of demands, but urged the government to reject Point No. 9 and keep NPSC CESE as the sole recruitment route for assistant professors and librarians.

Among its specific requests, the forum asked the government to reject proposals for regularisation or absorption of guest, ad hoc and contract teachers, fill vacancies through open competitive recruitment by the NPSC, and review contractual appointments made without public advertisement. It also sought termination of services of the 147 contract assistant professors and urged the state to create regular posts against those positions. The NNQF warned that if Point No. 9 is implemented or the CESE process is bypassed, its members would launch statewide protests similar to those held in 2025, noting that the matter is currently before the court.