Kohima Bureau
Kohima, Dec. 18 (EMN): The persistent issue of non-payment of post matric scholarship to scheduled tribe students of Nagaland for the year 2016-17 took a new turn with Chief Minister TR Zeliang assuring the student community that the second instalment of the said scholarship would be released by Dec. 19.
The student community, spearheaded by All Nagaland College Students’ Union (ANCSU) has been pressing the state government to disburse the pending scholarship and had decided to take their protest to the chief minister’s official residence in Kohima on Dec. 18. However, before the ANCSU volunteers commenced their march, it was informed that the chief minister had invited the union officials for a meeting.
Four ANCSU officials reported to have had an hour-long meeting with Zeliang, wherein, the latter is stated to have ‘promised’ the students that the pending scholarship would be released within a day. Briefing the student volunteers at PHQ Junction about the outcome of the meeting, ANCSU president Katho P Awomi lamented that the government opens its eyes only when an aggrieved party take to the streets. “We did not go to meet the chief minister to take assurance from him but he has promised to take our charters of demand seriously,” he said. The student leader however told the students that payment of the pending scholarship will be made category wise, therefore, they might not receive the amount in their accounts on Dec.19 itself.
He also informed that the chief minister gave his word to seriously look into the demand of ANCSU regarding setting up of separate cell/nodal department for implementing all the scholarship schemes. With different scholarship schemes being initiated by different departments, ANCSU is of the view that this creates confusion and harassment to beneficiaries.
Awomi said it was also assured that the state government would identify a particular month or season for disbursement of scholarship for the convenience of all.
On ANCSU’s demand for revocation of the government office memorandum dated Oct. 26, 2017 to scrap filling up of class-II non-gazetted posts from the purview of NPSC, and the union’s stiff opposition to the government office memorandum dated Aug. 11, 2017 for regularization of contract employees under different departments who have completed three years in service, it was informed that the chief minister has assured to review these two orders in the next cabinet meeting scheduled to be held in a few days’ time. The union is of the view that these two orders were depriving the rights of deserving candidates..
While welcoming the respite, ANCSU remained firm on their demands and warned that in the event the state government failed to conform the assurances made by the chief minister, it will resort to sterner actions and if any confrontation arises, the ‘government will be solely held responsible’.
The union also asked legislators not to oppose the reviewing of the government orders, and it went on to add that any legislator who does, would be held responsible for going against the interest of the student community.
