It is a matter of grave concern that the annulment of 144 regularised Assistant Professors was effected only after the intervention of CTAN and the NNQF. Likewise, 1066 ad-hoc teachers of the 2015 batch, after sustained protest and earnest remonstrance, at length secured the assurance of Government and are now in the process of regularisation. Such instances compel the public mind to inquire whether justice must needs be wrested by agitation before it is conceded by authority.
In melancholic contrast, a considerable multitude of employees serving under diverse departments—among them the PHED and the PWD—continue to languish in ad hoc or contractual engagement to this very day. Many have rendered not less than 20 years of faithful service; some, indeed, have devoted three decades of their lives to the State. Among these are ministerial staff and Dobashis, whose diligence and loyalty have sustained the machinery of administration. Yet they remain without the security and dignity that regular appointment alone can bestow.
Why this unequal dispensation? Why this semblance of step-motherly treatment at the hands of those entrusted with governance? Must it be inferred that public protest has become the principal instrument by which justice is to be obtained? Such a condition ill comports with the ideals of an orderly and enlightened administration.
Equally disquieting is the plight of thousands of D.El.Ed. and B.Ed. qualified candidates who remain unemployed, whilst the Education Department has refrained from the recruitment of Primary Teachers for more than ten consecutive years. The department concerned owes to the public a candid and satisfactory explanation for so protracted a delay. Silence, in matters so vital, breeds suspicion; and suspicion, once awakened, is not easily allayed.
If the plea advanced be that vacancies stand exhausted, it must be remembered that many appointments in former years were alleged to have been effected through questionable channels. Should such allegations bear truth, it would be manifestly unjust that the innocent should now suffer for the misdeeds of others. The sins of corruption must not be visited upon the blameless aspirant who seeks only an honourable livelihood.
During the late COVID-19 pandemic, the invaluable contribution of doctors has been rightly acknowledged, and measures toward their regularisation have found general approbation. Yet it must not be forgotten that the struggle against that dread contagion was sustained not by one profession alone, but by the united exertions of nurses, administrative staff, and innumerable frontline workers. Justice and gratitude alike demand that these faithful servants of the public should not be consigned to neglect or obscurity.
In an age that professes adherence to equity and good conscience, it is incumbent upon the Government and its functionaries to act with transparency, impartiality, and foresight. The confidence of the people is not secured by partial concession, but by steadfast adherence to principles of fairness. Let not the path to justice be paved with agitation and unrest; rather, let it proceed from deliberate and righteous governance, so that every deserving servant of the State may labour with dignity and hope.
Botika Kiho, Sitimi Town
Monday, March 2, 2026