Nagaland: Job seekers mulls to lock down education office over ‘backdoor’ appointments

A major protest rocked Nagaland's capital today as two powerful groups—Combine Technical Association of Nagaland (CTAN) and Nagaland Net Qualified Forum (NNQF)—launched an office lockdown of the Higher Education Department at the Nagaland Civil Secretariat. 

The agitation, which drew scores of qualified aspirants and supporters, is a response to what the organizations call blatant "backdoor appointments" that violate constitutional recruitment norms.

At the center of the storm is government order No. HTE/HE/13-3/2020 (PT-1) 104 dated December 17, 2024, under which 147 assistant professors and librarians were absorbed into the Higher Education Department. Protesters argue that this move circumvents Article 16 of the Indian Constitution, NPSC Rule 9(4), and the Personnel and Administrative Reforms (P&AR) Office Memorandum dated June 6, 2016—which bars regular appointments via contract.

With fiery slogans like "Stop Nepotism, Uphold Meritocracy" and "Right to Justice, Equal Opportunity for All," demonstrators called for the immediate rollback of the appointments and full transparency in government recruitment. 

Protesters held placards and banners as they converged outside the department, signalling growing unrest among unemployed and NET-qualified youth.

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CTAN and NNQF leaders met with officials to follow up on a memorandum previously submitted on April 10 to the Chief Secretary, reiterating their core demand: all appointments after June 6, 2016, must go through the Nagaland Public Service Commission (NPSC).

In response, the Higher Education Department stated that the appointments in question were made on a fixed-pay basis to address urgent academic needs and were against non-sanctioned posts. The department further claimed that all sanctioned vacancies had already been requisitioned to the NPSC, and hence no additional vacancies were available.

However, CTAN and NNQF dismissed the justification as "vague and unsatisfactory," accusing the department of regularizing appointments without due process. They alleged that this undermines years of preparation and qualification efforts by deserving candidates.

In a bold escalation, the organizations declared a total lockdown of the Higher Education Department starting April 17. They vowed to continue the protest until the government revokes the controversial order and reinstates merit-based recruitment.

The episode has ignited debate across the state about transparency in hiring practices, the relevance of public service examinations, and the broader issue of unemployment among educated youth in Nagaland.