Kohima: The All Nagaland Adhoc Teachers Group (ANATG) 2015 Batch on Friday stepped up its agitation for regularisation of services, staging a fresh demonstration in Kohima as talks with the authorities failed to make any headway.
Addressing the media, ANATG Core Committee member Lhovito Sheqi said the group is known as the “2015 batch” because that was the year when 1,166 teachers became eligible for regularisation.
He said the teachers have been protesting in Kohima for the past three days, with the agitation beginning on February 4 with a silent sit-in at NSF Solidarity Park. Internal discussions and a general meeting were also held, though these were not made public.
Sheqi said the group held two rounds of talks with the School Education Department on February 4 and 5, and later met the chairman of the screening committee for regularisation on Thursday, but the meetings failed to yield any positive outcome.
Following deliberations and resolutions adopted by the members, the group intensified its agitation by taking out a peaceful and silent procession from NSF Solidarity Park to the Secretariat junction.
However, Sheqi said an unfortunate incident occurred when some frustrated protesters briefly turned violent, adding that the situation was quickly brought under control by the police, district administration and ANATG officials.
He attributed the incident to mounting frustration, saying many teachers have been awaiting service regularisation for at least 14 to 15 years.
Sheqi said the ANATG 2015 batch had launched peaceful agitations in 2018 and once more in 2022, but their demands remained unresolved.
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He added that an agreement was signed between the Nagaland government and the ANATG 2015 batch in 2022, under which a High-Powered Committee (HPC) was to be constituted within 15 days, submit its recommendations within six months, and resolve the issue on or before December 2023.
Sheqi said that despite the agreement’s specific timelines, the authorities failed to deliver any concrete outcome even by 2025.
