‘Ad hoc teachers’ to continue with agitation

Our Correspondent
Kohima, June 21 (EMN): The All Nagaland Ad hoc Teachers’ Group (ANATG) has decided to continue with its agitation demanding regularisation of their jobs. This is despite the government making its position clear its helplessness about doing anything about regularising the agitating ad hoc teachers at this juncture as the court is yet to issue a verdict on the blanket ban of regularisation of contract employees.

A joint meeting convened by Principal Secretary Menukhol John, with the Against Corruption and Unabated Taxation (Acaut), Public Service Aspirants of Nagaland (PSAN) and the ANATG in the presence of legal experts at the secretariat conference this evening came to a deadlock.

Giving the legal aspects of the case was Senior Additional Advocate General K Sema. He said that as the court had stayed the August 4 2008 government notification, the government cannot be expected to go beyond the court’s order, which will invite contempt-of-court.

‘Unless and until the courts order stay the notification August 2008 is set aside or modified,’ he said, the government cannot do anything to regularise their services. The government has not been put in such a position where it cannot move forward nor backward, the advocate explained.

Sema implied that the legal institution was ‘doing our best and working on it to see that at least it get some orders and some relief’ is given to the contract teachers. He informed that the government had written an application on this case saying that the petition was defective and not in accordance with law and therefore needs to be dismissed. However, unless the court comes to some definite decision, he maintained that it may not be proper for the government at this juncture to leap over the order and give relief to the teachers and land itself a lawsuit.

Further, Sema reminded the agitating teachers that court process takes some time. Nonetheless, he informed that the case was likely to come up next week.

On the claim that the Acaut had exempted the ad-hoc teachers in the case, Sema bluntly pointed that exemption or not was immaterial — the Acaut does not have the right to say that on the very fact that they challenged the August 2008 notification.

When asked by ANATG members to explain and define contract / ad-hoc, Sema said ‘in a simple layman term it is backdoor appointment.’

Meanwhile reasoning with the association, John explained that nobody was above the law. Until the court comes with a ruling, he said, there is nothing that the government can do at this juncture. Since the matter is sub-judice at this moment, the officer requested the agitating teachers to be reasonable and to call off their agitation for the sake of the students.

Earlier, on June 18, the director of School Education Wonthungo Tsopoe said that the Acaut and the PSAN had filed a petition challenging the government’s notification on regularisation of contract / ad hoc employees in the state. This happened before the cabinet could decide on the service regularisation of the ad-hoc teachers, he said.

The association claimed that it was exempt from the purview of the Acaut and PSAN’s petition, but representatives from the latter two groups declined to give any comment stating that the matter was sub-judice at the moment.

The appeal to call off the agitation was rejected by the ANATG who have now decided to go ahead with their agitation at the directorate of School Education till its demand is met.