An ad-hoc government teacher from Nagaland, who was on hunger strike outside the Civil Secretariat here demanding regularization of services, was taken to a hospital on Thursday, the eleventh day of the agitation.
With this, the number of protesters admitted to the hospital rose to nine, said All Nagaland Ad Hoc Teachers Group (ANATG) spokesperson Bendangtamsu Ozukum. He is one of the 38 members of the ANATG-2015 batch who are participating in the hunger strike.
They are among the 38 members of ANATG -2015 batch who are participating in the hunger strike.
1166 teachers appointed from 1994 to 2012 in various government schools are staging a sit-in in front of the secretariat since September 26.
Ozukum said there was no positive progress on their demand during the day and the members were adamant on continuing the agitation till their demand for immediate regularization is met.
Ozukum had disclosed that ANATG sought to resolve the issue by placing its three-point charter of demands with the state government represented by Adviser school education K.T. Sukhalu on Tuesday.
He said the three point charter included (i) Regularisation for ANATG-2015 batch to be effective from the date the agreement was signed between the two parties, (ii) Seniority to be back dated to when ANATG-2015 batch members were eligible for the suitability test and (iii) State government to give written assurance for service regularisation.
A total of 1166 members of the body, who were appointed in various government schools of the state from 1994 to 2012, are staging a sit-in in front of the civil secretariat since September 26 in support of their demand.
The protesters on Monday rejected the state government’s proposal to set up a high-powered committee and reaffirmed their demand for immediate regularization of their service.
They also submitted a memorandum to Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio seeking his intervention to resolve the matter.
On Tuesday, a 31-member team of ANATG office holders and its core committee members held an in-camera meeting with advisor to the school education department KT Sukhalu, commissioner and secretary of the school education department, Kevilleno Angami, its principal director. Thavasilan K and its director Vanthungo Tsopo. However, there was a deadlock in the meeting as both the sides did not budge from their stand.
The government had been maintaining that it was not in a position to regularise the ad hoc teachers because of the standing order of the Supreme Court and High Court not to regularise ad hoc appointees.
Ozukum said the state government did not accept them and so, the ball now lies in the court of the chief minister on resolving the demand of ANATG.
He added that nothing short of regularisation will be acceptable to ANATG.
He also said that the teachers were planning to further intensify the agitation in the days to come, if the stalemate continues.
