The Nagaland Medical Students’ Association (NMSA) has strongly condemned the Department of Health and Family Welfare’s recent Notification No. HFW(A)10/34/2024/145 dated August 18, 2025, calling for the regularization of 98 contractual Medical Officers/Junior Specialists and other contractual posts through a departmental screening process.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the NMSA described the order as “arbitrary, unjust, and in gross violation of the Nagaland Health Service Rules, 2006,” which clearly mandate that Class-I Gazetted Officers are to be recruited “only through the Nagaland Public Service Commission (NPSC) by way of a duly advertised written examination and viva voce.”
The Association listed several objections to the notification. It said the order “violates Constitutional Rights & meritocracy” as it “undermines the fundamental rights of aspirants by denying them equal opportunity to compete, and disregards meritocracy which forms the backbone of public service recruitment.”
Further, the NMSA maintained that the notification “bypasses established rules” since “regularizing contractual appointees through departmental screening without NPSC process is a clear bypass of established norms and recruitment procedures.”
The Association also raised concerns that “more than 40% of the state’s Medical Officer workforce will consist of now and previously regularized (last done on 10th March 2017) contractual appointees if the recruitment drive is materialised.” It questioned, “Is the public willing to compromise the quality of healthcare services in our state by endorsing this unfair and biased recruitment?”
Calling the move a “dangerous precedent,” the NMSA warned that such regularization would “permanently harm the integrity of Nagaland’s public health service system, creating stagnancy in future recruitments and denying opportunities to deserving and meritorious candidates for years to come.”
The Association also pointed out what it termed an “alarming contradiction in numbers,” noting that “between 2015–2024, the Department recruited approximately only 61 Medical Officers through NPSC advertised, written and viva voice. Yet, in one notification alone, 98 contractual officers are being regularized outside the NPSC process.” It argued that this is a “complete deviation from norms and fairness, especially when Nagaland produces over 152 MBBS graduates and 12 dental graduates annually.”
The NMSA cautioned that such “arbitrary and unjust recruitment practices not only undermine the sanctity of established service rules but also directly compromise the quality of medical services delivered to the people.” It added, “If the healthcare system is weakened by vested interests and short-sighted policies, it is ultimately the citizens of the state who will bear the consequences through compromised patient care, eroded public trust, and stagnation in the health delivery system.”
The Association demanded the “immediate revocation of the notification order calling for the regularization of 98 Class-I Gazetted Medical Officers/Junior Specialists and the other COVID-19 contractual posts (total 280 posts).” It further demanded that all posts be requisitioned to the NPSC/NSSB for “fresh recruitment through duly advertised written examinations and viva voce open for all eligible candidates.”
Calling upon “all right-thinking citizens, students’ bodies, NGOs, and aspirants to unite and stand against this regressive and discriminatory policy,” the NMSA strongly reiterated that if the Department proceeds with the move, it “will be left with no option but to exercise its full democratic rights, including resorting to agitation, to safeguard the future of medical aspirants and uphold justice and meritocracy in the state.”
