Government College vs Aspirants: The Face-off over faculty regularization on April 21?

A face-off between government college staff, student organizations and aspirants is expected to unfold on Monday, April 21, 2025, as a circular issued by Dr Temjenwabang, Principal of Kohima Science College, has been doing the rounds where he has called for a peaceful demonstration in support of the recently regularized Assistant Professors in the state.

This comes amidst ongoing protests from CTAN (Combined Technical Association of Nagaland) and NNQF (Nagaland NET Qualified Forum), who have expressed strong opposition to the government’s decision.

In the circular, a directive to all government colleges across Nagaland has been issued instructing teachers and students to participate in the demonstration, which is set to take place at 9:00 AM. The goal of the demonstration is to show solidarity with the 147 Assistant Professors and Librarians recently regularized by the Nagaland Cabinet as part of a one-time dispensation.

Heads of Departments (HoDs) have been asked to mobilize their departments and ensure attendance, even requesting HoDs currently out of station to delegate responsibility to other teachers in charge.

The All Nagaland Government College Teachers’ Association (ANGCTA), which represents sixteen affiliated colleges, has also written to the Chief Secretary of Nagaland urging the absorption of contractual teachers and reinforcing their longstanding support for the contractual teachers’ contributions.

The ANGCTA has emphasized that contractual teachers have played a crucial role in the growth of government colleges in the state, despite facing lower salaries and fewer benefits compared to their regular counterparts.

However, the regularization of these faculty members has been met with widespread criticism. CTAN and NNQF have protested for two days, with plans to resume on Monday, condemning the government’s decision. The organizations along with various scholars, various students body including NSF argue that the regularization process does not align with fair recruitment practices.

MT