NSF reiterates opposition to 109 ‘illegal’ appointments

Decides to wait for cabinet outcome, cautions of democratic agitation

Our Correspondent
Kohima | May 6

The Naga Students’ Federation (NSF) on Tuesday reiterated its opposition against “illegal appointment of 109 NPSC and NSSB posts” across multiple departments in Nagaland.

Addressing a press conference in Kohima, NSF President Mteisuding Heraang said the federation had submitted a list of alleged illegal appointees and an ultimatum to the state government on March 20, 2026. He claimed the appointments were made without advertisements, undermining meritocracy, transparency and fairness.

According to the NSF, the appointments span 16 departments and 109 posts, and were executed outside the purview of the Nagaland Staff Selection Board (NSSB) and the Nagaland Public Service Commission (NPSC), “directly violating all procedural regulations for appointments through proper channel.”

Stating that the office memorandum of the government on 6th June 2016 clearly mentioned the ban on appointment on contract basis, Heraang said, “But it is very sad in the system that we are still having those illegal appointments.”

NSF to wait for outcome of cabinet meeting
The Federation received a letter on May 4 from the Chief Secretary, Heraang told the press conference. The letter stated that the government had examined the matter and decided to refer it to the Cabinet Sub-Committee on Temporary PIMS for further review and necessary action, in addition to its Terms of Reference. The Federation was asked to await the committee’s findings and recommendations.

Heraang added that after receiving the letter, the Federation discussed the issue with the Chief Secretary, who “apprised the NSF office that the Cabinet is going to have a discussion on the matter of illegal appointment as well as many other issues on May 6.”

“We will wait for the outcome of tomorrow’s Cabinet meeting,” and then take necessary action, Heraang said. If the government fails to address the issue of what the Federation had raised to the government, then the NSF will go for a democratic agitation, he added.

Accuses government of violating office memo
NSF Vice President Vimeyiekho Vitso stated that the issue of illegal appointments “is a movement, a movement in the interest of students and youth in particular, and the Naga people at large.” He appealed to all right-thinking citizens to come forward and extend their support and cooperation.

Of the 109 “illegal appointment”, 13 fall under the NPSC (appointed between 2018–2021) and 96 under the NSSB (appointed between 2019–2023), Vitso informed. He added that among these 109 appointments, 82 were on a regular basis, 16 on contract, 8 temporary, 2 casual, and 1 ad hoc.

Vitso, convenor of the Grievances & Redressal Cell, stated that 109 posts under the NPSC and NSSB were filled without open advertisement or proper procedure of conducting exams. He noted that a government Office Memorandum dated June 6, 2016 explicitly bans contract appointments. “In Para 3, it mentions that all posts falling under the purview of NPSC and NSSB must be conducted by NPSC and any HoDs or officers violating the standing order is subject to a penalisation,” he said. 

“Now therefore, it is clear that although the order of June 6, 2016  highlights about the ban on contract appointments, now these posts which are being appointed on regular basis  is absolute violation of the ethics of conducting fair examinations,” Vitso said.

He noted that a government Office Memorandum dated March 10, 2022, outlined the format for issuing appointment orders. He argued that as per the observation of the NSF, the appointment orders given after March 10, 2022, OM were not in line with the OM which was published by the Government of Nagaland. 

“Even after such OM and guidelines been laid by the Government of Nagaland, it has been violated on several occasions,” he said.

“These appointments which are irregular and illegal deprive the rights of the students and youths who are eligible to apply for these exams,” he said. Such information are being sought through various forms of information and through the filing of the RTI, he revealed. 

Vitso said that certain appointments are done against the principles of fair and open competition, some departments reluctant to give the information and some have went to the extent of not furnishing the appropriate information to the NSF. Stating that such practices will only result into more confusion, he said that the NSF shall not shy away in taking any effective measures to do away with nepotism and separatism.

The Federation has so far identified 16 departments and is reviewing more, which will be submitted to the government again, Vitso said. “We want to inform the general public that the Naga Student’s Federation will definitely see to it  that the rest of the departments which are having illegal and irregular appointments, the Federation will definitely see to these issues and will address them at the earliest,” he added.

On being asked about allegation of unfair means in the recruitment process in the various departmental recruitment, NSF Editor Pithungo Shitio said that the Federation had sought RTI in all the departments. “If these recruitments were not according to a transparent manner, then we will have to sit for a meeting and we will definitely give our opinion as to whether to continue this departmental recruitment board or not”, he said.