Meghalaya's NEHU faculty seeks Governor's intervention amid intensified protests

As the indefinite hunger strike and ongoing protest by North-Eastern Hills University (NEHU) students entered its fourth day, faculty members urged Meghalaya Governor CH Vijayashankar to intervene and help resolve the crisis.

Protests at the university, serving nearly 5,000 students, have resulted in disruption of operations. 

Students staged a hunger strike outside NEHU Vice-Chancellor PS Shukla’s office demanding his removal along with that of the “incompetent” registrar and deputy registrar, among other officials. Effigies of the officials were also burnt in the process. 

The president of the North Eastern Hill University Teachers’ Association (NEHUTA), Prof. Lakhon Kma said the faculty held a meeting with Governor Vijayashankar and briefed him about the situation.

In response, the Meghalaya Governor expressed concern over the ongoing protests, emphasising that students should not be agitating but instead attending their classes.

Moreover, the Governor also directed all stakeholders, including faculty and staff, to submit suggestions for resolving the crisis.

“We apprised the Governor, who is the chief rector of NEHU, about the ongoing turmoil in the university,” Kma said.

Prof. Kma claimed that there was a significant loss of trust in the leadership of Shukla, with students, teachers, and non-teaching staff all calling for his removal.

On students' request to appoint a pro-Vice Chancellor in the Tura campus, VC Shukla announced that a pro-VC for both the Tura and Shillong campuses would be appointed by the end of the month, in line with university ordinances. 

Earlier, VC Shukla made a direct appeal to the students to engage in dialogue and end their hunger strike.

In a statement, Vice-Chancellor Shukla expressed his deep concern for the students' wellbeing, stating, "I earnestly request the students, through the media, to call off the hunger strike and work with us to find solutions. Without dialogue, my hands are tied." 

Tensions at NEHU escalated when students initiated an indefinite hunger strike and declared a complete lockdown of the university campus. The protests stem from unaddressed demands raised by the North-Eastern Hill University Students' Union (NEHUSU), which include the removal of the Registrar and Deputy Registrar, the appointment of a Pro Vice-Chancellor for the Tura campus, and the prompt holding of PGSU elections.