Raising concerns about systemic recruitment barriers for Nagaland’s youth, Lok Sabha Member of Parliament S. Supongmeren Jamir invoked Rule 377 on Wednesday to address what he calls longstanding discrimination in Staff Selection Commission (SSC) examinations. Jamir emphasized that this discrimination has led to chronic staff shortages in key central government institutions, especially Doordarshan and All India Radio (AIR) in Nagaland.
In his address, Jamir referred to an SSC notification published on March 23, 2013, in Employment News/Rozgar Samachar, which announced vacancies for Programme Executive and Transmission Executive (Production Assistant) roles in Doordarshan and AIR. Despite 15 available positions, not a single candidate from Nagaland qualified due to the mandatory Hindi Paper–II requirement in the examination.
The MP argued that the language criterion has unfavorably positioned Nagaland’s aspirants, despite English being the primary medium of education and communication in the state. He highlighted that this requirement is largely irrelevant to job performance in broadcasting.
Jamir also pointed out the severe manpower crisis within public broadcasting institutions in Nagaland. At Doordarshan Kendra in Kohima, 89 out of 144 sanctioned posts remain unfilled. The situation is similarly troubling at All India Radio, Kohima, where the Programme Section is running with just 15 staff members against a sanctioned number of 79. The Administrative and Engineering wings suffer from similar vacancies, with only 34 out of 90 and 41 out of 91 positions filled, respectively.
According to Jamir, these widespread vacancies have significantly compromised the effectiveness and outreach of public broadcasting services in the state. These services are critical for disseminating information, preserving culture, and ensuring regional representation in the national media landscape.
Urging the Union Ministry to take immediate action, Jamir called for a special recruitment drive for Nagaland that would relax the Hindi language requirement. He recommended that both Paper I and Paper II of SSC examinations for these posts be conducted in English, ensuring fair opportunities for local candidates.
Reiterating his concerns, Jamir insisted that recruitment policies must be inclusive and sensitive to the linguistic and educational contexts of the North Eastern region. He stressed that qualified and deserving youth should not be barred from central government employment due to language barriers unrelated to their professional capabilities.
Original Source: https://www.indiatodayne.in/nagaland/story/nagaland-recruitment-issue-raised-in-parliament-as-mp-flags-discrimination-in-ssc-exams-1341424-2026-02-04?utm_source=rssfeed
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Publish Date: 2026-02-04 22:45:00
