Shillong: Amidst the ongoing protest by students, the North Eastern Hill University (NEHU) Vice Chancellor Prof Prabha Shankar Shukla on Wednesday appointed Pro Vice Chancellors for the university’s Shillong and Tura campuses in Meghalaya.
Prof Sherwin May Sungoh from the Department of Education will oversee the Shillong campus, while Dr Fameline K Marak from the Department of Garo will be in charge of the Tura campus.
This decision was made in response to persistent demands from students, teaching, and non-teaching staff for the appointment of Pro Vice-Chancellors for the two campuses.
The tenure and other terms and conditions of the newly appointed Pro-Vice-Chancellors shall be according to the university’s Act and statutes, as amended from time to time, the order added.
While the appointment of Pro-Vice-Chancellors is a positive step, the university is still facing pressure from students to address the demand for the removal of Registrar Omkar Singh and Deputy Registrar Amit Gupta.
The delay in addressing this issue has led to a section of students calling for Prof Shukla’s resignation, with some even resorting to an indefinite hunger strike since November 5.
However, the NEHUSU and NEHU unit of the KSU on Wednesday rejected the appointment of the Pro-VCs and decided to continue with their indefinite hunger strike.
NEHUSU president Sandy Sohtun made it clear that the students’ body remains resolute in its demand for the removal of the current Vice-Chancellor. He asserted that the students’ union would not engage in any discussions or negotiations until this key demand is met.
He also said the Assistant Registrar in charge of planning is not authorized to issue the order for the appointment of the Pro-VCs.
Sohtun levelled serious allegations against the Vice-Chancellor, claiming that he had misused his position to promote his close aide. The aide, who was previously working as an assistant lab technician in the Bio-Informatics Department, was recently elevated to the position of assistant professor in the Zoology Department.
“We will not allow the VC to run the university from outside the campus through his close aide. We do not want him in the university anymore,” he said.
Sohtun further added that the appointment of the Pro-VCs is not the top priority of the student bodies at the moment.
Meanwhile, the Meghalaya High Court has granted the central government time till November 20 to address the ongoing crisis at the North-Eastern Hill University (NEHU).
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The court’s decision came after Phuyosa Yobin, an advocate, filed a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking the court’s intervention to restore normalcy at the university.
The court clarified that if the problems continue to persist until the next hearing date on November 20, it would consider initiating suo motu proceedings to address the university’s affairs.
