Nagaland students protest regularisation of 147 assistant professors, demand NPSC recruitment

Thousands of students and job aspirants in Nagaland launched protests on Tuesday against the state government's decision to regularise 147 ad-hoc and contract assistant professors under the Directorate of Higher Education (DHE).

The decision, formalised through an order issued on April 21, has sparked a wave of opposition led by the Naga Students' Federation (NSF), which is demanding that the posts be filled through open competition via the Nagaland Public Service Commission (NPSC).

The NSF began its first phase of agitation following the expiry of a seven-day deadline it had issued to the government. Protesters marched from Naga Solidarity Park to the DHE office and staged a sit-in, calling the regularisation process unfair and arbitrary. Over a thousand student volunteers from different NSF units participated.

NSF president Medovi Rhi called the move a betrayal of meritocracy. “Fairness is not negotiable, but the government has given injustice to the Naga students and aspirants, thereby denying opportunity to the hard work of the youngsters,” he said. “This is a pure attack on the very idea of meritocracy,” Rhi added.

“We seek no favour but demand what is rightfully ours.” He made it clear that NSF would not stay silent “until and unless justice is delivered.”

Parallel protests were also staged by the Combined Technical Aspirants Nagaland (CTAN) and the Nagaland NET Qualified Forum (NNQF), who resumed their second phase of agitation on the same issue. They had suspended their initial protest on April 25 after the Minister for Higher Education verbally assured them that the regularisation order would be revoked and the high-powered committee (HPC) investigating the matter would be dissolved. But with no formal action taken, they resumed the protests.

CTAN and NNQF have placed three key demands before the government: immediate revocation of the April 21 order, dissolution of the HPC, and requisition of the 17 posts for recruitment through competitive exams.

In response, the state cabinet on Monday reduced the HPC’s timeline to submit its report from eight weeks to four weeks and promised to investigate the matter. It also urged NSF, CTAN, and NNQF to end their protests. The appeals, however, have not deterred the protestors, who say they are committed to continuing their agitation until their demands are met.

Security forces and district officials have been deployed at protest sites to maintain order.