[caption id="attachment_191492" align="alignnone" width="550"]
Agitating teachers outside the directorate of School Education in Kohima on Monday. (EM Images)[/caption]
Our Correspondent
Kohima, June 25 (EMN): The sit-in protest of the All Nagaland Ad hoc Teachers’ Group (ANATG) demanding regularisation of their service has entered its sixth day with no positive outcome. The teachers have decided to go on an indefinite hunger strike from June 27 until its demand is achieved.
The teachers said that they were compelled to take the decision owing to ‘lackadaisical treatment and adamant attitude on the part of the government to redress our genuine grievances and our sole demand despite exercising democratic act of resentment’ in the form of the current agitations.
The agitating teachers have been organising agitations in phases: A pen-down strike during April 16-18; mass casual leave during June 4-6; class boycott during June 15-17, and a sit-in protest at the directorate of School Education since June 18.
The group said it had been appealing to the government and the department for redress including through an ultimatum in April and June, 2018, besides writing to the government appealing to it to file an interlocutory application (I.A) before the court immediately for modification of court’s interim order to regularize 1166 grade–III adhoc teachers, etc.
In its latest letter issued on June 25, the group requested the advisor for School Education to urgently intervene to address the group’s demand.
The ANATG’s president, Ruguotsolie, and Convenor Temsuchiba Aier lamented that in spite of repeated appeals, the government remains adamant.
“Since the ANATG-2015 batch is left with no other option, the aggrieved teachers have collectively resolved to intensify our democratic acts of resentment by undertaking indefinite hunger strike till our sole and genuine demand is achieved –i.e Regularization of our service,” stated a release.
Earlier on June 21, in a joint meeting convened by Principal Secretary Menukhol John has explained its helplessness stating that the court was yet to issue a verdict on the blanket ban of regularization of contract employees. The department had appealed to the teachers to call off the agitation.
During the meeting, Senior Additional Advocate General K Sema had highlighted the legal aspects of the case. He said that ‘unless and until the court order stay, the notification August 2008 is set aside or modifies, the government cannot do anything to regularise their services.’
It was informed that the case was likely to come up next week (i.e., this week).
