Kohima: The Gauhati High Court, Kohima Bench, has blasted the Nagaland government for its illegal hiring of contract-based assistant professors. Justices Devashis Baruah and Helen Daungliani delivered the judgment on September 23 after reviewing a batch of writ appeals. The court found that the state ignored key University Grants Commission (UGC) regulations while keeping 145 contractual staff on the payroll. This accounts for roughly 23 percent of the 636 total assistant professors in 15 government colleges, far exceeding the 10 percent ceiling set by the UGC.
State officials justified the hirings by citing student-teacher ratios. The judges rejected this excuse. They noted that the state ignored critical mandates regarding qualifications, pay, and term limits. At least 32 teachers were hired without meeting the minimum qualifications required by the 2018 UGC guidelines and the 2015 Nagaland Higher Education Service Rules. Furthermore, these teachers receive less than one-third of the gross salary earned by their regular counterparts. The court stated, "The teacher-student ratio is not for the purpose of numerical equation to be maintained but for the purpose of providing good quality higher education."
Nagaland’s habit of rolling over contracts for years creates a disaster for students. The court warned that violating these standards could force Nagaland University to disaffiliate the colleges. It could also trigger the UGC to withhold essential grants and funding under the Rashtriya Uchchattar Shiksha Abhiyan. The court quashed previous rulings, declaring the current extensions a violation of Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution.
The judges spared the current staff to prevent classroom chaos but banned any further contract extensions. The state must now create permanent posts and fill vacancies through the Nagaland Public Service Commission. Future contractual hiring must follow strict UGC guidelines, including public advertisements. The court made one thing clear: "It is high time that the State of Nagaland should create posts."
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