An opaque system

The Nagaland NET Qualified Forum (NNQF) and the Combined Technical Association of Nagaland (CTAN) are seeking far more than a dispute over vacancies. Both are directly challenging the state on how it interprets fairness, public service, and the future of its educated youth. At stake is not simply employment, but the credibility of Nagaland’s higher education system. The immediate trigger was the government order dated December 17, 2024, which sanctioned the absorption of 147 faculty and librarian posts. NNQF and CTAN have demanded its revocation, arguing that such regularisation undermines merit-based recruitment. Their agitation began on April 22, 2025, with a public call for mass protest against alleged corruption in the Higher Education Department. This was followed by a larger demonstration on April 24, and a second phase of agitation on May 28, after the government failed to act on their ultimatum to requisition the posts to the Nagaland Public Service Commission (NPSC).The protesters’ demands are rooted in a clear principle: all posts filled on contract after June 6, 2016, should be requisitioned to the NPSC, in line with the office memorandum banning contractual appointments beyond that date. They have also called for the dissolution of the Cabinet-formed Committee reviewing the regularisation, which they view as a delaying tactic lacking legitimacy. At the centre of this unrest lies the government’s failure to advertise 129 newly created Assistant Professor posts. Hundreds of qualified candidates, armed with degrees and NET certificates, remain sidelined while contractual appointees are poised to be regularised. This sequence of events has fuelled fears of backdoor entry and patronage. When regularisation precedes open advertisement, the message is unmistakable: connections matter more than qualifications. Such decisions corrode trust not only in one department but across the system. Universities and colleges are meant to be bastions of meritocracy, nurturing and rewarding the best minds. When appointments appear to be managed behind closed doors, the moral authority of these institutions collapses, leaving an entire generation of aspirants disillusioned. The Gauhati High Court’s Kohima Bench recently dismissed NNQF’s petition, citing questions of locus standi. While legally defensible, this ruling sidesteps the larger public question: should recruitment in higher education be guided by transparency or convenience? The confusion over overlapping clearance numbers for both the 129 new posts and the 147 contractual positions only deepens suspicions of administrative opacity. When government notifications read like riddles, citizens naturally suspect manipulation. Nagaland’s graduates are not asking for favours; they are asking for fairness. Every delay in advertising posts signals indecision. Every attempt to regularise without competition signals disregard for merit. In a small state where opportunities are scarce and migration is rising, these signals carry profound social and political consequences. This strike is not just about jobs-it is about the kind of state Nagaland aspires to be. If opacity and adjustment become the norm in university appointments, they will seep into every corner of public life. Conversely, if the government embraces transparency now, under pressure and scrutiny, it can begin to restore confidence in the rule of law. The choice is stark. Nagaland can either treat its higher education sector as a playground for ad hocism and favouritism, or as the backbone of its future. The students are watching, as are the unemployed, the disillusioned, and the next generation. How the state responds today will determine whether its campuses remain centres of learning-or monuments to lost opportunity.