The fifth day of the All-Nagaland Adhoc Teachers’ Group (ANATG) 2015 batch’s silent sit-in protest remained largely peaceful, though it was marked by a brief moment of internal tension among members over the lack of an official response from the authorities.
According to the group, a letter addressed to the Principal Director, School Education, was submitted during office hours earlier in the day seeking a response to its demands. With no reply received, the group began preparations to intensify its agitation in line with its earlier communication.
A formal letter was subsequently dispatched to the Deputy Commissioner informing authorities of its intention to launch an indefinite hunger strike. The DC granted permission on the condition that the protest be confined between 9 am and 4 pm, a restriction the group declined to accept.
ANATG expressed dissatisfaction with what it termed “high-handedness” by authorities and said the proposed limitations amounted to curtailing its democratic rights. The group maintained that its demand for regularization was genuine and based on the High-Powered Committee (HPC) agreement signed between the Government of Nagaland and the ANATG.
Late in the evening, the group received a responding letter from the Director of School Education. The Core Committee held deliberations and decided to wait for further developments, including the possibility of being invited to a negotiation table.
The regularization issue has drawn support from the All-Nagaland School Teachers’ Association (ANSTA), which in a separate representation to the Commissioner and Secretary of School Education said prolonged delays have caused “uncertainty and distress” among affected teachers despite repeated discussions with the government over several years.
ANSTA noted that many ad hoc teachers have served for more than a decade under difficult conditions without service security or financial stability. It said the constitution of a High-Powered Committee following earlier agitations had raised expectations of a transparent resolution, but no concrete outcome has emerged so far.
Stating that the ongoing situation was not due to impatience by teachers but the absence of visible urgency from the government, the association said it could not remain a silent spectator while educators were repeatedly pushed towards agitation. It urged the government to take an immediate policy decision on regularization and announce a clear implementation timeline.
Meanwhile, ANATG stated that the continuation or suspension of its proposed hunger strike would depend on the nature of any written response or invitation for talks from the government.
MT