Shillong: Agitating students of North-Eastern Hill University (NEHU) in Shillong, the oldest central university in the Northeast, continued their indefinite hunger strike on Saturday, defying appeals from the Meghalaya Governor and Chief Rector Chandrashekhar H. Vijayashankar.
The protest, led by the North Eastern Hill University Students’ Union (NEHUSU), entered its fifth day. Key demands include the removal of Vice-Chancellor Prabha Shankar Shukla and four other top officials, including Registrar Col Omkar Singh (Retd) and Deputy Registrar Amit Gupta.
The Governor, while meeting with the North Eastern Hill University Teachers’ Association and Meghalaya Tribal Teachers’ Association on Friday, assured that the students’ demands would be considered. He urged them to withdraw their agitation.
The Vice-Chancellor has repeatedly urged students to end the strike and engage in dialogue to resume normal academic activities.
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He assured the formation of an inquiry committee to investigate the demands for the removal of the Registrar and Deputy Registrar. Additionally, he agreed in principle to appoint a Pro-Vice-Chancellor for the Tura Campus.
NEHUSU general secretary Toniho S. Kharsati expressed dissatisfaction with the VC’s response, stating that the protest would continue until their demands are met. Students have burned effigies of the VC and blocked university entrances as part of their agitation.
At least six students, including a girl, have been hospitalized due to deteriorating health conditions. Two of them have since rejoined the hunger strike.
The agitating students claim that the incompetence of top officials has led to a decline in NEHU’s ranking, falling 21 points to 101 in the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF).
They accuse the current VC of failing to initiate significant academic developments and of appointing incompetent individuals to top positions.
