Assam: NIT Silchar appoints new academic Dean in response to student demands

The National Institute of Technology (NIT) Silchar has taken steps to address the concerns of its students following the death of Koj Buker. In a significant development, the college authorities have agreed to fulfill some of the demands put forward by the students, ultimately resulting in the replacement of the Academic Dean.

The demands, which were pressed by the students in the wake of Koj Buker's suicide, included the resignation of the then Academic Dean, Prof. Binot Krishna Roy. Just a day after the authorities acceded to the students' requests, Prof. BK Roy was removed from his position, and the mantle was passed to Prof. Brinda Bhowmick.

Prof. Brinda Bhowmick, from the Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, assumed her role as the new Academic Dean on September 25. The official order stated, "Prof. Brinda Bhowmick is entitled to admissible allowance as per existing rules of the institute with effect from the date of taking over the charges. The tenure of engagement will be provisionally for a period of two years from the date taking over the charges or till further orders."

The demands presented by the students were as follows:
1.    No actions should be taken against any students, either by the NIT Silchar Administration or the Cachar Administration, regarding the unfortunate incidents.
2.    A proper investigation into the case and appropriate actions should be taken based on the findings.
3.    Immediate resignation of the Dean Academic NIT Silchar, Prof. Binot Krishna Roy, as they believe the unfortunate incident could have been avoided with greater cooperation from the administration.
4.    Adequate compensation and support should be provided to the victim's family by both the NIT Silchar Administration and Cachar Administration.
5.    All pending disciplinary actions against students that may lead to similar incidents of suicide or mental distress should be reviewed immediately.
6.    The students expressed concerns about the academic section's lack of student-friendliness and called for the formation of a high-level committee to bring about academic reforms in the college.

The incident involving Koj Buker came to light when his body was discovered hanging under suspicious circumstances from a window inside the NIT hostel campus on September 15. It was revealed that the engineering student had several subjects with backlogs from his first semester. As a result, NIT authorities had not allowed him to register for the third year until he cleared these backlogs. Seeking assistance on this matter, the student had approached NIT Academic Dean BK Roy, but his concerns were not adequately addressed, leading to the tragic outcome.