Nagaland: CTAN, NNQF urge cancellation of government order regularizing 'backdoor' appointments

In a significant development concerning recruitment practices in Nagaland’s higher education sector, the Combined Technical Association of Nagaland (CTAN) and members of the Nagaland NET Qualified Forum (NNQF) have jointly called for the revocation of Government Order No. HTE/HE/13-3/2020(Pt-1) 104 dated December 17, 2024. The order allows for the absorption and regularization of backdoor appointees into the posts of Assistant Professors and Librarians.

The move has sparked strong opposition from CTAN and NNQF, who have expressed concern over the lack of transparency and fairness in the appointments. As per a subsequent notification (No. HTE/HE/134-3/2020 (Pt-II)/51) issued on December 18, 2024, a total of 147 individuals were regularized in academic posts under the said order.

The protesting bodies have urged the Department of Higher Education to honor the Office Memorandum No. AR-5/ASSO/98 dated June 6, 2016 issued by the Department of Personnel & Administrative Reforms (P&AR), which imposed a ban on contract appointments across government departments.

Citing this memorandum, CTAN and NNQF have demanded that the December 17, 2024 order be rescinded immediately and that all appointments made after June 6, 2016, under this provision be terminated.

The organizations warned that failure to act on their demands will lead to public protests outside the Directorate of Higher Education beginning April 16, 2025.

The protest is aimed at ensuring merit-based recruitment, upholding UGC norms, and protecting the interests of NET-qualified candidates in Nagaland. Both CTAN and NNQF have maintained that regularizing appointments made through non-transparent means undermines academic standards and denies opportunities to qualified candidates who have cleared national-level eligibility criteria.