Mokokchung, 1 April (MTNews): The Naga Students’ Federation (NSF) on Saturday wrote a representation to Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio appealing to him and his government to take prompt and affirmative action into 5 different issues.
Among the 5 issues, one was the reduction of the viva-voice marks percentage in the Nagaland Staff Selection Board (NSSB) exam.
Since the inception of the NSSB, the Naga Students’ Federation (NSF) has urged the State government to either eliminate the interview system or reduce the weightage in marks given to the viva-voce to 5% from the current 12.5% in the Nagaland Staff Selection Board (NSSB) examination.
However, on the evening of 29 March, the NSSB announced the skill test results and notified qualified candidates that the viva voce would begin on 16 April, 2023 while the notification made no reference to the NSF’s proposal.
Moreover, it was made known that the board justified that the 12.5% marks allocated for viva-voce component cannot be rolled-back due to the provisions of section 45 (10) contained in the Nagaland Staff Selection Board Regulations, 2022.
However, the federation in the representation pointed out that the justification given by the board is ‘misleading’ and stated that ‘the plain reading of section 45 (10) deals only with the maximum limit of marks that can be allotted for Personal Interview’.
“There is absolutely no mention of the minimum threshold anywhere in the regulation,” the federation stated and reproduced Section 45(10) of NSSB Regulation 2022 which states, “The marks allotted for personal interview shall be fixed at not more than 12.5% of the total marks of the examination process.”
In this regard, the federation requested the CM’s immediate intervention in helping the thousands of aspirants in the state for equal job opportunity and meritocracy in the process of selection to Group C posts by lowering the viva-voce marks to 5%.
“This will minimize the chance for manipulation by the board and ensure that the principle of ‘Right Person for the Right Job’ will be upheld,” the federation reasoned.
The federation also suggested that the State Government should revise and resolve the Reservation Policy in the state within the legally permissible jurisdiction without delay.
Further, the Federation also appreciated the government of the day for making Nagaland State Staff Selection Board (NSSB) a reality by successfully conducting the preliminary and second phase of the exams.
In the same representation, the Naga Students’ Federation highlighted four more issues: E-governance, Indo-Naga political issue, ILP and Youth Empowerment.
NSF calls on CM to take measures on empowering students and youth
“The students’ and youth community have high expectations that your government will do justice to the people. But the sad picture, however, is that there is an alarming rise of the population of the educated unemployed youths in the state,” the said in its representation to the Chief Minister.
The Federation submitted the representation on Saturday where they appealed for ‘prompt and affirmative action’ on 5 different issues where the demand to take measures for youth empowerment was one.
“This section (youth) of the population needs to be provided with the avenues to spend their time in a more productive manner,” the NSF said, adding that otherwise, “the future of our state will be at stake.”
There is also an “urgent need to set-up more skill training institutes as well as nurturing of sporting talents in the state,” the federation noted.
Taking stock of the reality, the federation appealed to the CM and his government to take up more measures which will ensure the welfare of the students’ and youth community.
Effective implementation of e- governance needed for transparency
In the Saturday representation, the NSF advocated e-governance as a tool to bring “transparency” and a powerful agent to check corruption in the governance of the state.
“Federation is strongly of the view that effective implementation of e- Governance is the need of the hour which will bring about transparency in governance. Access to accurate and updated information in regard to various State Government’s functionaries, departments (including District Administration) and agencies will reign in the impetus required to effective governance,” the federation stated.
In this regard, the Federation appealed the government to address the particular issue by ensuring that information such as the schemes & programs and list of beneficiaries, incumbency list, post creations and vacancies, progress report of the Department and vice-versa are made readily available in the public domain in compliance with the laid down guidelines for departmental websites (GIGW).
The federation also urged the government to enhance the level of citizen interaction in governance through application of internet and mobile technologies and to ensure that the benefits are accessed by all citizens.
The federation further strongly advocated e-governance as a tool to bring “transparency as a powerful agent to check corruption in the governance of the state”.
Waning sense of patriotism amongst younger generation needs redressal
The NSF also expressed concern about the growing divide amongst the various sections of the Naga society and urged for an effective redressal regarding the “waning sense of patriotism amongst the younger generation.”
Stating that their detractors of the day are yet unaware of the founding principle of the federation, the NSF said they remain undeterred in upholding the cause that is ‘Just, Fair and Righteous’.
Expressing concern over the growing divide amongst the various sections of the Nagas, NSF wrote how NSF has been remaining steadfast and committed to the Indo-Naga political issue and pointed out that “The waning sense of patriotism amongst the younger generation” has become a matter that needs prompt and effective redressal by all the stakeholders.
Therefore, the federation appealed to the CM and his government to sincerely and proactively work towards ensuring that peace and unity prevail among the Nagas and to ensure that all the Naga Political Groups (NPGS) and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) come together under one table for an early, inclusive, honorable and acceptable solution to the protracted Indo- Naga political issue.
The federation urged the CM to effectively liaise with the Government of India as facilitators to expedite the process of Indo- Naga political dialogue with the negotiating parties and ink the final agreement to the protracted Indo-Naga political issue in line with the unique ‘history and situation’ of the Naga people.
NSF calls for robust system to monitor influx of illegal immigrants
The NSF viewed that a robust system needs to be put in place to check the influx of illegal immigrants in the state.
According to the federation, the implementation of the Inner Line Permit system under the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation of 1873 has been far from effective in the state of Nagaland.
“Even the online ILP system which is currently operational is far from serving its purpose,” NSF added and called for a robust system to be put in place in order to check the influx of illegal immigrants into the state.
The Federation also suggested that a state level committee/commission be set-up with the mandate to monitor the implementation of the ILP system in the state.