CTAN-NNQF condemns alleged coercion of Sao Chang College students in faculty absorption issue

• DIMAPUR — The Combined Technical Association of Nagaland (CTAN) and the Nagaland NET Qualified Forum (NNQF) have issued a scathing condemnation of what they describe as a "betrayal" of students at Sao Chang College, Tuensang, relating to the absorption of 147 contractual assistant professors and librarians.
• 
  
• In a joint statement issued on Sunday, the organisations alleged that students were coerced and manipulated into supporting the professors' regularisation, a process they described as “arbitrary and illegal.”
• 
  
• “It is a matter of deep shame that individuals entrusted with the noble task of educating the youth have stooped to deceit, coercion, and intimidation. Under the pretence of mere procedural formalities, certain contractual assistant professors, once praised as the ‘backbone of colleges’ by the Minister for Higher Education, misled and pressured student leaders into signing letters of support they neither fully understood nor truly consented to.
• 
  
• “Students were threatened with severe consequences if they chose to dissent—an unconscionable abuse of power within a space meant for learning and growth,” the statement read.

Also read: Nagaland Cabinet set to revoke regularisation of 147 posts on Monday

Combined Technical Association of Nagaland and Nagaland NET Qualified Forum halt agitation after minister's assurance

• The organisations questioned the ethical standards of those involved, asking where the diligence, sincerity, and honesty expected of educators were. “Such acts of betrayal are not mere personal failings; they strike at the very heart of our society's faith in its education system.”
• 
  
• They lauded the students' courage in speaking out, asserting that their bravery had “shattered the façade” concealing a deeper issue of corruption and irregularities in the regularisation process.
• 
  
• “The NNQF and CTAN affirm that this is not an isolated incident confined to one college; it is a symptom of a larger malaise that threatens to corrode the integrity of education across Nagaland.
• 
  
• This is not merely a college issue; this is a battle for the soul of our education system, for the future of our youth, and for the dignity of fair and honest governance,” they asserted.
• 
  
• In their call to action, the CTAN and the NNQF urged all conscientious citizens of Nagaland to stand against corruption and injustice, emphasising that silence would be complicity in the erosion of future generations' prospects.
• 
  
• “We demand an immediate, transparent, and independent investigation into these disgraceful acts: both the coercion of students and the larger illegal absorption process. Those responsible must be held accountable not merely for administrative irregularities but for the ethical and moral crimes they have committed against the students, the system, and the people of Nagaland.
• 
  
• “The NNQF and CTAN stand with the Sao Chang college students, shoulder to shoulder, in this righteous fight for justice, for truth, and for the future of the Naga people,” they added.