With no positive response forthcoming from the State Government, the All-Nagaland Adhoc Teachers Group of 2015 (ANATG-2015) will resume its indefinite hunger strike from Wednesday at the Capital Convention Centre, Kohima, escalating an already tense standoff over long-pending regularization demands even as authorities released a detailed chronology outlining legal constraints and ongoing administrative processes.
At least 15 members will participate in the hunger strike while other members will remain present in solidarity, one protestor told MT.
According to the protestor, the hunger strike was initially scheduled to resume on Monday but was temporarily put on hold with the expectation of receiving a positive response from the government. With no breakthrough emerging, the group has decided to proceed with the indefinite protest from Wednesday.
Despite intensifying agitation, ANATG released all teachers handling Class X in view of the upcoming matriculation examinations.
“Regardless of the government’s attitude and the injustice meted out to us for the past so many years, we are teachers at the end of the day. We cannot leave our students when they are about to face one of their most crucial exams,” the protestor said.
The protestor further stated that many ANATG members are themselves parents of board-exam candidates – with 66 members having sons and daughters appearing Class X examinations and 49 appearing Class XII. “Our students are more important as teachers, and as parents we are ready to compromise, as our regularization will guarantee a safer and secured future for our own children,” the protestor added.
In a detailed statement, the Nagaland Government said the All Nagaland Adhoc Teachers Group of 2015 (ANATG-2015) comprises 1,166 individuals appointed on contract or ad-hoc basis against various posts under the School Education Department between the late 1990s and 2012.
Following document verification, the Government conducted a suitability test in May 2017 under then-prevailing Office Memorandums which allowed regularisation after three years of continuous service against sanctioned posts, subject to Cabinet approval. All 1,166 candidates who cleared the test were recommended for regularisation, and a Cabinet memo was submitted in October 2017.
However, the Gauhati High Court Kohima Bench, through a series of orders issued between July 2017 and August 2018, restrained the State Government from regularising contract appointments under the cited Office Memorandums, leading the Cabinet to defer the process.
Pending resolution of the court matter, the Cabinet in August 2018 decided that regularisation could not proceed but approved doubling of fixed salaries for ad-hoc teachers. Subsequently, scale pay based on the 6th ROP (2010) was granted from October 3, 2018.
The Government said ANATG submitted a representation in September 2021, following which departments examined the applicability of the Supreme Court’s State of Karnataka vs Uma Devi judgment concerning one-time regularisation measures for long-serving irregular employees.
After agitation by the teachers in September–October 2022, a High Powered Committee headed by the Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister was constituted to examine the issue. The Committee submitted its report in June 2023.
On February 9, 2024, the Cabinet decided to adopt a policy for regularisation of contract and ad-hoc employees. A one-time policy was subsequently introduced in March 2024 for employees appointed against sanctioned posts prior to June 6, 2016, and a Screening Committee was constituted in June 2024 to examine cases.
Authorities said the School Education Department forwarded details of 2,487 contract and ad-hoc employees to the Screening Committee, and discussions have been ongoing regarding documentation and procedural requirements.
According to the Government, ANATG issued an ultimatum in December 2025 demanding regularisation by January 30, 2026. Several meetings were held in early February involving ANATG core members, departmental officials, the Screening Committee and the Chief Secretary.
On February 4, the group submitted a seven-point charter of demands, including immediate regularisation, arrears from October 2018, seniority from date of appointment, posthumous regularisation of deceased members and exemption from another suitability test.
Authorities said the screening of documents remains in progress. Following a February 9 communication from ANATG indicating plans to begin a hunger strike, the Directorate of School Education requested the group to hold off further recourse to allow continued consultation, assuring that their concerns would be taken up at the earliest.
The Government added that, considering the School Education Department’s large manpower strength, multiple stakeholder organisations are working in tandem to resolve the issue.