Shillong, Mar 17: With vice-chancellor Prof PS Shukla resuming duty “online” after a long leave, another spell of turmoil looms over the North Eastern Hill University (NEHU) in Shillong.
Seeking removal of Prof Shukla as VC, three NEHU bodies – NEHU Students’ Union (NEHUSU), NEHU Teachers’ Association (NEHUTA), and NEHU Non-Teaching Staff Association (NEHUNSA) – have decided to serve a 48-hour ultimatum to the Ministry of Education for appointment of an acting VC.
If the Ministry failed to adhere to the 48-hour deadline, they have threatened to launch agitation and facilitate the senior most faculty to assume charge as acting VC as per “NEHU rules”.
The demand came in the wake of alleged “remote functioning” of the VC, who resumed duty “virtually” earlier this month.
Rejecting the VC’s “remote functioning”, the three statutory bodies on Monday alleged that Prof Shukla had been absent from the campus for over 130 days.
They also demanded for stopping his salary as he “exhausted all the leaves” applied to him.
Besides, they demanded for stopping the release of salaries of the registrar and deputy registrar as they too have been “absent from the campus for the similar period of time”.
Stating that the university cannot afford to not have a VC in station, NEHUTA president Prof Lakhon Kma said, “We have a very unprecedented situation in Shillong that we don’t have a VC, and the regular VC have absconded. He seems to claim that he has joined online which we have totally rejected because under any rule of Government of India, there is no provision of joining online.”
He said an inquiry has been conducted and the report has been submitted to ministry, the content of which is yet to be made public.
Meanwhile, NEHUSU president Sandy Sohtun criticized Prof Shukla’s attempts to direct university affairs remotely.
“He is trying to run the university through WhatsApp from Guwahati, which we will never accept,” Sohtun said.
He added that students would not allow Prof Shukla to return to campus and reiterated that if the ministry failed to act within the deadline, they would ensure that the rules were followed to appoint an acting VC.
The students also warned of renewed agitation if their concerns were ignored.
“Previously, they did not listen to the voice of students or stakeholders. We had to go on a hunger strike on November 5. If the situation remains unresolved and the committee’s report is further delayed, we may resume our protest or the hunger strike,” they warned.
All the three statutory bodies reaffirmed that they will not allow Prof Shukla to return to the campus. They want him to resign and leave the university.
