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In yet another move towards fructifying the much-cherished Staff Selection Board (SSB), the State cabinet gave its formal approval during a meeting held at the civil secretariat here on Friday.
This comes after chief minister Neiphiu Rio gave an assurance to Naga Students’ Federation on June 15 of setting up the board within a month.
Interacting with Nagaland Post at his office chamber later, High Powered Committee (HPC) spokesperson and adviser Mmhonlumo Kikon said the decision was taken considering the future of Naga youth and the appeals.
He asserted that the cabinet decision also slowed the State government’s sincerity to address the unemployment issue. He added that rules and regulations governing SSB would be released soon.
State ready to test 1200 samples a day
With BSL-2 in Dimapur now functional, along with the operationalisation of BSL-3 lab at Kohima and availability of TrueNat machines in all districts, Kikon declared that Nagaland could now conduct 1,200 sample tests per day. He said the newly-inaugurated BSL-2 had the capacity to carry out 150 sample tests per day.
He also clarified that there was no community transmission in the State so far. Admitting that there could have been certain hiccups, he appealed to the citizens not to panic and claimed that the government had been persistent and proactive in contact tracing, adding that the surveillance teams were doing an excellent job even as areas where positive cases had been found had been declared as containment zones.
Kikon also informed that 3,42,000 people had been screened till date at all entry points of road, airways and railways in the State, adding screening was going on vigorously at all check gates and would be continued.
NSF welcomes cabinet decision: Naga Students’ Federation has expressed joy at the State cabinet finally approving setting up of Staff Selection Board (NSSB) and thus realising the long-cherished dream of thousands of aspiring youth to have equal job opportunities with merit becoming the norm for selection.
The federation in a release also conveyed its warm gratitude to the State government for its genuine concern towards the student community and youth, and hoped that SSB would be implemented in letter and spirit.
Recalling how the public & administrative reforms (P&AR) department had first forwarded its recommendation on the board to the cabinet in 1995, followed by ACAUT and PSAN, NSF observed that due to the weak political will then, the same could not materialise.
The federation noted that the journey of SSB had been difficult since inception, filled with many challenges and disagreements along the way.
“However, through the collective efforts of all past leaders and present, the aspirant community, concerned citizens and with the sincere commitment and sheer political will of the present government led by chief minister Nephiu Rio, the hard labour has come to fruition today,” the release added.
The federation also recalled and acknowledged all men and women who had shouldered this noble responsibility in the past by carrying forward the aspiration and collective dream for a future built upon the foundation of equality and meritocracy.