Nagaland adhoc teachers continue strike, seek timeline for service regularisation

Kohima: The agitation launched by ad hoc teachers in Nagaland to press their demand for service regularisation entered its 10th day on Monday, with the demonstrators rejecting the government's request to withdraw the cease work.

The members of All Nagaland Adhoc Teachers' Group (ANATG)-2015 batch held a meeting at their protest site in front of the Directorate of School Education here, and demanded that the government give a definite timeline for completion of their regularisation process. The protesters said they rejected the department's appeal to withdraw the cease work, claiming that the authorities, in its February 12 letter, failed to give any specific timeline for the regularisation of the 1,166 ad hoc teachers.

The group maintained that mere assurances without a clear roadmap would not address their long-pending demand for service regularisation. In its letter dated February 13, the School Education Department had urged the agitating teachers to resume normal duties, stating that the government was actively examining the matter and making efforts to resolve the issue.

The department also appealed to the teachers to cooperate with it in the interest of students and the academic environment while the process was underway. However, the ANATG-2015 batch said the absence of a concrete timeline has compelled them to continue their agitation. The group warned that it would hold an indefinite hunger strike, which was kept in abeyance since the morning of February 12, following the government's assurances.

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The decision to continue the agitation and reject the department's appeal was taken during the general meeting of the group held at the protest site on Monday. The agitating teachers said they were waiting for the outcome of a high-level meeting convened by Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio later in the evening.

They expressed hope that the "meeting would result in a clear and time-bound decision regarding their regularisation". The ANATG-2015 batch has been protesting since February 4, demanding immediate regularisation of their services, stating that they have been serving in an ad hoc capacity for nearly a decade despite repeated assurances from the government.

They have not been protesting at the weekend. The group reiterated that it remains open to dialogue but asserted that the agitation would continue until a definite and written commitment with a specific timeline is provided by the government.