Adhoc govt teachers in Nagaland on hunger strike for service regularisation

NEW DELHI: Agitating adhoc government teachers in Nagaland have launched an indefinite hunger strike in the absence of any positive response from the state government to their demand for immediate service regularisation. The strike was launched on Thursday by the All Nagaland Adhoc Teachers Group (ANATG)-2015 Batch on the fourth day of their peaceful demonstration outside the state civil secretariat.

The ANATG spokesperson Bendangtemsu Ozukum told reporters that its 1166 members took part in the protest since Monday but there had been no positive response from either the state government or the department of school education to their demand. “We have patiently and peacefully protested for four days, but with no sign of positive response from the government the emergency general meeting of the ANATG-2015 Batch decided to change the mode of agitation to hunger strike," he said. "Henceforth, ANATG will not accept any negotiations but continue the agitation till our demand for service regularisation is met,” Ozukum said.

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Around 73 ANATG volunteers have come forward for the hunger strike. The rest of the protestors will also continue with the peaceful sit-in, he said. The All Nagaland School Teachers Association (ANSTA) had approached the commissioner and secretary of school education on Thursday but there was no positive outcome, the spokesperson added. The principal director of the directorate of school education, Thavaseelan K had said on Tuesday that the members of ANATG-2015 Batch are not illegal appointees but were appointed irregularly without following proper norms in sanctioned posts.

It is not that the department does not want to help the protesting teachers but the department and the government are constrained because of the standing order of the Supreme Court and High Court not to regularise any adhoc appointees. The department has also suggested the adhoc teachers to move the court to vacate the order, without which it would be not be possible to regularise their service. ANATG has on the other hand claimed that despite the courts' orders other government departments have regularised the services of their adhoc appointees.