DIMAPUR, JULY 3 (MExN): The Nagaland Tribes Council (NTC) has written to the Nagaland State Chief Secretary calling for rectification of a notification issued by the Technical Education Department relating to JEE.
The notification had classified candidates for JEE (Main) 2018/CSAB NEUT-2018 into 4 categories, whereby 10 ethnic groups were placed in Category-I and another 10 ethnic groups in Category-II. “The list goes on to 4 broad categories. Special emphasis was also made for Rongmei tribe (recognized) in to Category-I and Rongmei (De-recognised) in to Category-III (ST),” a press note from the NTC President, Toniho Yepthomi and General Secretary, Nribemo Ngullie pointed out.
It stated that the NTC was “aware of the 14 Naga tribes and 2 non-Naga tribes in Nagaland where classifications were made for advanced and backward Tribes.” The remaining ethnic groups or inhabitants who are qualified by the criteria laid down in the Notification No. AR-8/8/76, dated April 28, 1977 is classified as indigenous inhabitants of Nagaland, the NTC said.
It added that there are established laws to determine citizenship status, recognition of tribes and reservation policy in the state and respective departments can frame rules or guidelines as per the law of the land.
The NTC viewed that the particular notification issued by the Department of Technical Education “in which major modifications were made at his own will is detrimental to the interest of the indigenous Naga tribes of Nagaland.”
“If the present rules and guidelines are allowed without rectification and JEE is conducted on the basis of such rules, it will create bad precedence putting the future of our children in jeopardy,” it added.
The NTC therefore urged the Chief Secretary “rectify the anomalies as stated above in the earliest so that JEE norms will not contradict the existing law on recruitments and selection of candidates for higher and technical studies.”
