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The situation at North-Eastern Hill University (NEHU) resembled a game of cat and mouse, with students vowing to prevent Vice-Chancellor Prof. P.S. Shukla, the Registrar, and the Deputy Registrar from entering the campus.
Demonstrating their resolve, students chased Registrar Omkar Singh off the campus during his visit with his wife. According to eyewitnesses, the students confronted Singh at his official quarters and escorted his vehicle to the campus gates, reiterating their decision to bar him and other administrators from accessing university premises.
“Today, as you know that the Registrar entered the university campus, since yesterday we have been informed from the students they informed us the Registrar came yesterday and he was surveying the university campus. Today he came and entered the university premises without informing the authority or even the student community,” said NEHUSU President Sandy Sohtun.
“From our side from the NEHU Students Union along with the KSU NEHU Unit we went together to the office of the administration and then we have locked the administration in which we have clearly stated that we will not allow the Registrar to enter in the campus as well as in the office,” The NEHU SU President said.
“The NEHU Students’ Union, along with the Khasi Students’ Union (KSU) NEHU Unit, locked the administration office to make it clear that the Registrar and other officials will not be allowed to enter the campus or their offices,” he said.
Explaining their actions further, Sohtun added, “We went to the Registrar’s quarters and told him he could send someone to collect documents if needed, but he himself is not permitted on campus. Even the vice chancellor, we won’t be allowing them to enter the quarter or even the campus. Yeah from the student community we stayed firm with our decision not to allow them to ever enter the university campus, so we had to chase him away.”
The protests, led by NEHUSU and KSU, NEHU Unit, stem from longstanding demands for the resignation of Vice-Chancellor Shukla, Registrar Singh, and Deputy Registrar Gupta. The students accuse the trio of incompetence and mismanagement, which they claim have undermined NEHU’s functioning and reputation.
In a strongly worded letter to Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, the student unions called for urgent action on the findings of an Inquiry Committee formed to investigate allegations of administrative failures. The letter, signed by NEHUSU President Sandy Sohtun, General Secretary Toniho S. Kharsati, KSU NEHU Unit President Shibaitlang Rymbai, and General Secretary Kevin Nelson Wanrap, described the leadership of Prof. Shukla was detrimental to the university’s progress.
The students declared that Prof. Shukla, Registrar Singh, and Deputy Registrar Gupta would not be allowed to return to the university under any circumstances. They have called for immediate intervention to restore NEHU’s integrity and functionality.
NEHUSU President Sohtun informed about plans to meet Chief Minister Conrad Sangma, Governor Phagu Chauhan, Education Minister Rakkam A. Sangma, and other officials to push their demands. “The administration has failed to uphold NEHU’s academic and administrative standards,” he stated, underscoring the urgency for action.