NEHU teachers, students pass resolution to make V-C persona non grata

NEHU teachers pass resolution to make V-C persona non grata

GUWAHATI The unions of teachers and students of the North Eastern Hill University (NEHU) have resolved to make Vice-Chancellor Prabha Shankar Shukla a persona non grata regardless of the findings of the two-member committee formed by the Union Ministry of Education.

The committee comprising former University Grants Commission chairperson D.P. Singh and former Vice-Chancellor of Assam University Dilip Chandra Nath met with members of the unions on Monday (November 25, 2024). It also inspected the university’s infrastructure in the Mawlai area on the outskirts of Meghalaya’s capital Shillong.

“The meeting with the panel was positive. We hope it gives a stringent recommendation against the Vice-Chancellor based on the documents we submitted,” NEHU students’ union president Sandy Sohtun said

“We made it clear to the panel that Prof Shukla’s wrongdoings outweigh those of his predecessors and that we will not allow him into the campus again irrespective of what report it comes out with,” he said.

The unrest on the NEHU campus began in the first week of November, with the teachers and non-teaching staff resorting to non-cooperation with the Vice-Chancellor over alleged irregularities such as the appointment of “unqualified” people as the Registrar and Deputy Registrar (Academics), interfering with the functioning of the deans, and blocking research collaborations with leading foreign institutions.

The students followed with an indefinite hunger strike to protest the Vice-Chancellor’s indifference to welfare measures and pleas to repair the university’s crumbling infrastructure. The hunger strike was suspended on the 16th day on November 21, but the students decided to continue with their sit-in outside the administrative building.

“We have declared the Vice-Chancellor a persona non grata and are firm about his removal from the post. Even the local dorbar [traditional administrative body] that wields jurisdiction over the university has banned his entry,” NEHU Teachers’ Association president Lakhon Kma said.