A view of National Institute of Technology Nagaland, the State’s sole Institute of National Importance, located in Chümoukedima. (Photo Courtesy: @NagalandNit/X)
Morung Express News
Dimapur | July 23
The National Institute of Technology (NIT) Nagaland is reportedly grappling with a chronic shortage of staff, with more than 40 non-teaching posts currently lying vacant at the state’s only Institute of National Importance, located in Chümoukedima.
A majority of these posts have remained unfilled for almost three years allegedly for not floating advertisements, raising questions about accountability and transparency.
According to a reliable source familiar with the issue, the institute’s authority has yet to issue advertisements inviting applications for filling the vacant posts, the reason for which remains unexplained.
In October 2023, the Union Ministry of Education sanctioned 36 non-teaching posts, including Technical Officers, Technical Assistants, and Junior Assistants. “However, till date, the institute’s authority has not published any advertisement in the local papers,” said the source, who wished to remain as an anonymous tipper.
The sanction letter, dated October 16, 2023, from the Ministry’s Department of Higher Education, was addressed to the Director of NIT Nagaland. Per the letter, the “additional posts” were sanctioned in response to a proposal from the institute “based on the student strength for the academic year 2022-23.”
In addition to the 36 unfilled new posts, there are 5 vacant preexisting posts— Laboratory Assistant, Junior Assistant, Student Activity and Sports (SAS) Officer, and Stenographer. The 5 vacancies were attributed to employees, who initially held the posts, quitting after getting employment in their home states.
In the words of the anonymous source, “Candidates are selected and when vacancies come out in institutes and universities in their home states, they apply, and when they get selected, they leave... As a result, posts become vacant in the NIT (Nagaland), which are not filled.”
Compounding the issue is an alleged dependence on short-term measures, by way of filling academic and administrative roles through temporary tenures. According to the source, short-term contracts preferring out-of-state candidates continue to be utilised, even as long-term appointment remains stalled.
Even for the short-term tenures, allegedly no advertisements were floated. “There was no advertisement of the contractual post, which is a gross violation of NIT rules and regulation,” the source said.
In a state known for job saturation in the government sector, the curious case of vacant posts in the state’s lone NIT has had resentment brewing, further fanned by the aforementioned perceived preference for employing non-domicile candidates. The source cited the short-tenure appointment of the SAS officer as an example of the alleged biased appointment practice. Despite receiving applications from 7 qualified domiciles of the state, the source alleged that the job went to an out-of-state candidate, who resigned within a few months after landing a similar job in his home state.
Two years have passed, and the post reportedly remains vacant without any fresh recruitment drive.
There are also issues reportedly in the tenure of Heads of Departments (HoD). The source claimed that rotation orders for certain departments have been stalled for over a year. The HoD tenure is said to follow a three-year (2+1) system.
The source further alleged irregularities in the composition and tenure of the Board of Governors (BoG), the institute’s highest administrative committee. The National Institutes of Technology, Science Education and Research (NITSER) Act require that the BoG must include at least one woman representative and an assistant professor nominated by the Senate. However, the source said that the governing board has neither, nor internal members from the institute itself.
At present, the BoG is alleged to have members, who have held the role way over the maximum three-year term mandated by the NITSER Act.
Furthermore, the institute’s management has allegedly failed to float public tenders for hostel mess, security, housekeeping, and canteen services.
No convocation for three batches
Over above the alleged issues, NIT, Nagaland, has not held the customary annual convocation ceremonies for 3 graduating batches— 2024, 2025 and 2026. Cause for the consecutive deferment was not attributed.
Generally, the source said that convocation ceremonies were held in the month of May, annually. The last was conducted in January 2024 for the graduating batch of 2023.
According to the source, the unexplained deferment is affecting career prospects “as without original certificates, graduates cannot get jobs.”
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