Meghalaya's NEHU crisis: Students' federation expresses solidarity, criticises VC Shukla's lack of concern

The Central Executive Committee of the Students' Federation of India (SFI) has expressed solidarity with the students of North-Eastern Hill University (NEHU), who have been on hunger strike for the past several days. 

The agitating students have launched a protest, demanding better facilities and the resignation of Vice Chancellor Prof. Prabha Shankar Shukla, along with four other senior officials, including the Registrar and Deputy Registrar. 

In a press release, the committee raised concerns over the health conditions of hunger-striking students stating that their conditions are rapidly deteriorating. They further pointed that "the VC chose to escape from the university, and instead has been staying in a hideout, showing a lack of concern for the students."

The committee said that the VC's disappearance has legitimised the students' demands, further adding that "the NEHU administration remains unresponsive to the ongoing students' misery."

Furthermore, the students union noted that the agitating students have submitted multiple memorandums to the Vice Chancellor since 2022, seeking improvement in basic infrastructure, access to academic resources, extended library access, and improvement in hostel facilities.

"While the VC has time and again assured to fulfil the demands, in reality, he has put zero effort. It is also astonishing to find that two of the hostels meant for the accommodation of Research Scholars have been closed for more than two years in the name of "renovation"," it was stated.

Highlighting violation of university regulations, the committee pointed Prof. Shukla's - who is approaching the end of his third year - failure to appoint Pro-Vice Chancellors for the university's other campuses. 

The press release also noted that VC Shukla's tenure has been "tainted by allegations of corruption and a lack of transparency," particularly in the appointment of key officials. It cited concerns over the failure to follow proper procedures, with accusations of irregularities and favoritism in the recruitment of both teaching and non-teaching staff.

Expressing concern over the deteriorating infrastructure of NEHU under Prof. Shukla's leadership, the committee stated that students have endured inadequate basic facilities such as the absence of safe drinking water in hostels. "Additionally, research scholars often face delays in the approval of fellowships," it further added.

The student body also pointed to NEHU's significant decline in the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) University rankings, falling from 15th position nationwide to beyond 100. They attributed this decline to administrative negligence.

Furthermore, the committee linked the broader crisis in higher education to the NDA government, accusing it of consistently cutting funding for public universities and attempting to undermine prestigious institutions across the country. "The government has also sabotaged academic institutions by appointing individuals with ideological alignments to key administrative positions," the committee stated.