Raising concerns over recruitment practices affecting young job seekers from Nagaland, Lok Sabha Member of Parliament S. Supongmeren Jamir on Wednesday highlighted what he described as long-standing discrimination in Staff Selection Commission (SSC) examinations. Invoking Rule 377 in the Lok Sabha, the MP said the issue has directly contributed to serious staff shortages in key central government institutions in the state, particularly Doordarshan and All India Radio.
Speaking in the House, Jamir referred to an SSC notification published in Employment News/Rozgar Samachar on March 23, 2013. The notification had advertised vacancies for Programme Executive and Transmission Executive (Production Assistant) posts in Doordarshan and AIR for Nagaland. He said that although 15 posts were earmarked for the state, not a single candidate could qualify. According to him, the main reason was the compulsory Hindi Paper–II in the SSC examination.
The MP said that this language requirement has consistently placed candidates from Nagaland at a disadvantage. He pointed out that English is the primary medium of education and official communication in the state, and most students do not receive formal education in Hindi at the level expected in competitive examinations. He added that the Hindi paper has little relevance to the actual work profile of broadcasting posts in Nagaland.
Jamir also drew attention to the severe manpower shortage in public broadcasting institutions across the state. At Doordarshan Kendra in Kohima, he said 89 out of 144 sanctioned posts are lying vacant. The situation at All India Radio, Kohima, is equally worrying. The Programme Section is functioning with only 15 staff members against a sanctioned strength of 79. In the Administrative Section, only 34 posts are filled out of 90, while the Engineering wing has just 41 personnel in place against a sanctioned strength of 91.
He said these large-scale vacancies have weakened the functioning and reach of public broadcasters in Nagaland. According to him, Doordarshan and AIR play a crucial role in information dissemination, cultural preservation, and ensuring that voices from the region are represented at the national level. Staff shortages, he warned, are affecting programme quality and public service delivery.
Urging corrective steps, Jamir appealed to the concerned Union Ministry to consider a special recruitment drive for Nagaland. He suggested that appropriate relaxation be given in the Hindi language requirement and recommended that both Paper I and Paper II of SSC examinations for such posts be conducted in English.
