Nagaland: Protesting adhoc teachers to shift hunger strike venue to Directorate of School Education premises

Escalating their long-pending demand for service regularisation, the All Nagaland Adhoc Teachers Group (ANATG)-2015 Batch on Thursday, February 12, announced that it will shift the venue of its ongoing agitation and hunger strike to the Directorate of School Education (DoSE) from Friday, intensifying pressure on the state government to resolve the issue affecting 1,166 teachers.

The decision comes amid what the teachers’ body described as the government’s failure to provide a concrete timeline or firm policy commitment on regularising their services, despite repeated representations and previous assurances.

The group has been staging sustained protests since February 4, seeking regularisation of adhoc teachers appointed prior to 2015. According to ANATG-2015 officials, relocating the protest site to the DoSE premises is aimed at directly engaging the department responsible for school administration and teacher management, and pushing for immediate administrative intervention.

The hunger strike, which began on Thursday as part of the agitation programme, will also be shifted to the Education Directorate premises, marking a significant escalation in what the group termed a “democratic movement for justice.”

Reiterating its core demand, the teachers’ body said the prolonged delay in regularisation has caused severe professional uncertainty, financial distress, and social hardship to hundreds of teachers and their families. It maintained that the matter goes beyond employment concerns and is a question of dignity, fairness, and policy accountability.

“Repeated assurances without tangible outcomes have left us with no option but to intensify our democratic agitation,” ANATG-2015 representatives said, appealing to the School Education Department and the Directorate of School Education to initiate meaningful dialogue and take urgent steps toward a resolution. The group warned that the protest would continue to escalate if its demands remain unaddressed.

Meanwhile, the School Education Department has pointed to measures already undertaken by the government in response to earlier agitations. Following a representation in 2021 and protests in September–October 2022, a High Powered Committee (HPC) was constituted, which submitted its report in June 2023.

In February 2024, the state cabinet adopted a policy for regularisation of contract and adhoc employees, followed by a resolution passed by the 14th Nagaland Legislative Assembly in March 2024. A one-time regularisation policy was subsequently notified on March 16, 2024, applicable to employees appointed against sanctioned posts prior to June 6, 2016. A Screening Committee was constituted in June 2024 to oversee the verification process.

The School Education Department has forwarded details of 2,487 adhoc and contract employees to the Screening Committee, with document verification and scrutiny currently underway.

The Directorate of School Education has urged the protesting teachers to suspend further agitation and hunger strike, assuring them that their concerns would be taken up at the earliest for better consultation.

However, ANATG-2015 has alleged that despite the formation of the HPC and subsequent policy announcements, the absence of clear timelines and definitive decisions has deepened uncertainty, prompting the renewed agitation.