Shillong, May 28: Student, teacher and staff associations of North Eastern Hill University (NEHU) warned the members of NEHU Executive Council (EC) against attending the EC meeting scheduled in New Delhi on May 30, saying their attendance will be regarded as anti-student and anti-NEHU activity.
“Any member who chooses to proceed against this appeal and disregards the position taken by the associations/unions will be regarded as acting in opposition to the interests of the students, teachers, non-teaching staff and their associations/unions and the university as a whole,” warned a joint statement issued by NEHU Teachers’ Association (NEHUTA), NEHU Non-Teaching Staff Association (NEHUNSA) and NEHU Students’ Union (NEHUSU).
The EC being the principal executive body responsible for overseeing NEHU’s administrative affairs, the meeting is crucial especially in view of the vice-chancellor Prof PS Shukla facing strong opposition from the associations, who are still firm on their demand for his removal.
The associations have expressed deep concern over the VC’s long “absence” for over six months.
The VC went on earned leave from 15 November 2024 which he has extended till the 2 March 2025 and till date he has not joined physically after the expiry of his leave in the NEHU Shillong campus, they said.
They also alleged that report of inquiry into Prof Shukla’s functioning has not been made public by the Ministry of Education till date.
Prof Shukla’s recent statement has undermined the discussions and agreements that the stakeholders of NEHU had with the visiting team of Ministry of Education on May 22 in NEHU, which could have resulted in normalising the situation in the university, the associations said.
Moreover, Prof Shukla has again attempted to disrespect more than 135 members of the Academic Council who attended the meeting chaired by acting vice-chancellor Prof SM Sungoh on May 21 as per the norms, they alleged.
