ANPSTA raises concern over ‘unfair recruitment’ of primary teachers

The All Nagaland Pre-Service Teacher Association (ANPSTA) has strongly criticized what it describes as “unfair and irregular recruitment” of primary teachers in Nagaland, alleging that the process has sidelined thousands of qualified aspirants for over a decade.
In a press release, ANPSTA president Hitova I. Murrumi and general secretary Chalievi-I Dahou stated that no open and transparent recruitment drive has been conducted in the past 11 years, despite repeated appeals.
Instead, they claimed, vacancies have been filled through questionable means, depriving meritorious candidates of even the chance to sit for examinations.
The association highlighted that between 700 and 800 teachers retire annually, creating significant vacancies.
However, these posts are allegedly being occupied by unqualified individuals, which ANPSTA warned is undermining the quality of education across the state.
It further pointed out that many primary schools are struggling with acute shortages of subject teachers, while the department continues to insist there is an excess of staff—a claim the association described as misleading and harmful to the education system.
ANPSTA expressed concern that prolonged inaction has left aspirants disillusioned, with many crossing the age limit for eligibility or abandoning their teaching ambitions altogether.
The perception that “backdoor recruitment” is the only way to secure a government teaching job has, it said, eroded public trust in the system. Since 2018, only two primary teacher posts have been publicly advertised, leaving thousands of hopefuls in despair. Despite multiple representations and RTI filings, the department has failed to respond meaningfully.
The association questioned whether authorities were deliberately waiting for unrest before addressing the issue, warning that frustration has been building for over a decade. It cautioned that if corruption and favoritism continue unchecked, stronger public action will follow as demands for transparency and merit-based recruitment intensify.