Nagaland job aspirants question court order, seek early recruitment of Assistant Professors

The Nagaland NET Qualified Forum (NNQF) and the Combined Technical Association of Nagaland (CTAN) have raised serious concerns over a recent single-bench court order related to alleged backdoor appointments in the Higher Education Department, while also urging the state government to immediately advertise the 129 newly created Assistant Professor posts.

Addressing the media, the two organisations referred to the single-bench order in cases WPC(C)/340/2022 and WPC(C)/189–198/2023, which held that the petitioners lacked locus standi to challenge backdoor or contractual appointments as they were not NET-qualified at the time such appointments were made.

The NNQF and CTAN clarified that the order, which has been widely discussed in public forums, could have far-reaching implications beyond the petitioners themselves. According to the organisations, the ruling may effectively strip educated unemployed youth in Nagaland of the right to challenge future backdoor appointments, thereby jeopardising their career prospects.

Terming the issue a matter of public interest, NNQF informed that it has appealed before a division bench, seeking a review of the order. Both NNQF and CTAN expressed hope and faith in the judiciary to address their grievances.

The organisations also flagged discrepancies surrounding the creation of 129 Assistant Professor posts and the earlier attempt to regularise 147 contractual Assistant Professors, which was later revoked. They pointed out that both orders were issued with the same Personnel & Administrative Reforms (P&AR) and financial clearance numbers, causing confusion and disappointment among aspirants.

To seek clarification, an RTI was filed, the reply to which stated that the 129 posts were not created to accommodate the 147 contractual posts, despite sharing identical clearance numbers. NNQF and CTAN noted that the P&AR clearance was issued in 2022 and financial clearance in 2023, while the attempted regularisation of 147 posts occurred in 2024 and was revoked in 2025, followed by the creation of the 129 posts. The organisations warned that such inconsistencies could erode public trust and called for accountability.

Further, NNQF and CTAN expressed concern that the much-awaited 129 Assistant Professor posts are yet to be advertised. They also noted that the annual Common Educational Services Examination (CESE) advertisement has not been issued so far.

The two bodies urged the concerned authorities to release the advertisements for both the Assistant Professor posts and CESE at the earliest, citing the prolonged uncertainty faced by aspirants.