‘Revolution of young Naga minds has begun’, AKM breaks silence on Govt decision to regularize contractual faculty

Breaking its silence on the Nagaland government’s decision to regularize 147 contractual Assistant Professors and Librarians without open recruitment through the Nagaland Public Service Commission (NPSC), the Ao Kaketshir Mungdang (AKM), the apex students’ body representing the Ao Naga community, has joined the Naga Students’ Federation (NSF) in opposing the move — a decision by the government that has triggered widespread backlash from civil society groups and youth organizations.

In reaffirming its allegiance to NSF’s April 19 notification, the AKM said it viewed the Cabinet decision as a direct threat to “meritocracy, transparency, and justice” — values that they say are “the collective aspiration of the Naga youth.”

‘Government alone must bear responsibility’

While the AKM acknowledged the contributions of contractual faculty, many of whom have served for years under precarious conditions, it argued that this cannot justify bypassing the Nagaland Public Service Commission (NPSC) — the state’s constitutional body for recruitment.

“No matter how commendable, cannot be used as grounds for permanent appointment in the absence of a due and fair process a process that every other aspirant has abided,” the statement read.

The student body laid the blame for the current crisis squarely on the state government’s “repeated failure” to requisition teaching posts in time to the NPSC, resulting in an artificial backlog of qualified candidates and a swelling number of contract employees. Many of these teachers, AKM noted, have now crossed the upper age limit for appearing in competitive exams — a consequence the group described as “due to the Department/Government repeated failure to requisition posts in time to the NPSC.”

“For this failure, the Government alone must bear responsibility,” it said.

Yet, the AKM cautioned against abrupt terminations, stating that such action would “cripple academic functioning and further burden our already strained higher education system.”

Proposing a way forward, the AKM suggested that the contractual employees continue to serve in their current capacity on a temporary basis, while the government immediately requisitions fresh posts to the NPSC. It also demanded that all future appointments strictly follow transparent and competitive procedures.

Condemnation of ‘politicization’ of students

Equally concerning to the AKM is a circular that has reportedly been circulated across government colleges, calling for students and teachers to participate in a demonstration in favor of the regularization. The student body called this move “exploitative,” warning that it risked turning students into political pawns.

“Endorsing irregularity is tantamount to endorsing corruption,” the AKM said, urging students to refrain from participating in the planned April 21 demonstration. The group has directed its units to enforce this decision, warning that violators will be held “individually accountable” under the AKM’s code of conduct.

A larger battle over institutional credibility

The controversy comes amid wider concerns about weakening institutional safeguards in the state’s public sector hiring. The AKM reiterated its commitment to defending the integrity of both the NPSC and the Nagaland Staff Selection Board (NSSB), warning that any dilution of their credibility would “meet with uncompromising resistance.”

While the government has yet to respond to the joint opposition from student bodies, the AKM’s statement signals a growing wave of youth-led accountability movements in the state — movements that place merit and due process at the centre of governance.

“The revolution of young Naga minds has begun,” the AKM declared in its concluding lines. “And it begins with truth, merit, and integrity.”