Nagaland govt outlines status of regularisation process for adhoc teachers

The Nagaland government on February 10 outlined the status of the long-pending regularisation process of ad-hoc and contract teachers under the School Education Department, detailing the legal, administrative and procedural developments that have shaped the issue over the past several years.

The All Nagaland Adhoc Teachers Group, comprising 1,166 teachers appointed on contract or ad-hoc basis against sanctioned posts between the late 1990s and 2012, has been seeking regularisation of service. In May 2017, the government conducted verification of documents and a suitability test in accordance with Personnel and Administrative Reforms (P&AR) office memoranda dated August 4, 2008 and August 11, 2016, which allowed regularisation after three years of continuous service, clearance of a suitability test and cabinet approval. Following the test, all eligible candidates were recommended for regularisation and a cabinet memorandum was submitted in October 2017.

The process, however, was stalled after the Gauhati High Court, Kohima Bench, in July 2017 restrained the state government from regularising contract appointments under the existing P&AR office memoranda. Subsequent court orders suspended the operation of the memoranda and directed the state not to regularise any appointment under those provisions, leading the cabinet to defer the proposal.

In August 2018, the cabinet decided that while regularisation could not proceed until the court matter was resolved, the fixed remuneration of ad-hoc teachers would be doubled. This was followed by the grant of scale pay under the Sixth Revision of Pay in October 2018.

The teachers’ group submitted a fresh representation in September 2021, after which the matter was referred to P&AR. The department advised that, as a one-time measure in line with the Supreme Court’s 2006 judgment in State of Karnataka vs Uma Devi, irregularly appointed employees who had completed ten years of continuous service as on April 10, 2006 could be considered for regularisation, and asked the department to identify such cases.

With their demands remaining unmet, the teachers launched an agitation from September 26 to October 7, 2022. The government subsequently constituted a high-powered committee headed by the principal secretary to the chief minister to resolve the issue, following which the agitation was called off. The committee submitted its report in June 2023.

On February 9, 2024, the cabinet decided to adopt a policy for regularisation of contract and ad-hoc employees. This was followed by a resolution passed by the 14th Nagaland Legislative Assembly in March 2024, leading to the issuance of a one-time regularisation policy by P&AR on March 16, 2024 for employees appointed against sanctioned posts prior to June 6, 2016. A screening committee was constituted in June 2024 to examine eligible cases.

In line with the policy, the School Education Department forwarded details of 2,487 ad-hoc and contract employees to the screening committee, and discussions have been held to address issues relating to documentation.

Meanwhile, the teachers’ group submitted an ultimatum in December 2025, warning of agitation if regularisation was not completed by January 30, 2026. A series of meetings followed between the teachers’ representatives, departmental officials, the screening committee and the chief secretary, during which the government explained that the screening process was underway and urged the group to suspend agitation.

After consultations with its members, the teachers’ group submitted a seven-point charter of demands on February 4, 2026, including immediate regularisation, reimbursement of arrears from October 2018, counting of seniority from the date of appointment, posthumous regularisation of deceased members and exemption from appearing in another suitability test.

On February 9, 2026, the Directorate of School Education received a letter from the group indicating its intention to launch a hunger strike if no satisfactory response was received. The department responded by requesting the teachers to put the proposed action on hold, assuring continued engagement and early consideration of their concerns.

The government said all concerned stakeholders are working in coordination to resolve the matter, noting that the School Education Department has the second-largest manpower strength in the state and that the issue is being examined from all legal and administrative angles.