Amid mounting tensions within North-Eastern Hill University (NEHU), the NEHU Students’ Union (NEHUSU) and the Khasi Students’ Union (KSU), NEHU Unit, have jointly demanded the resignation of Professor Sherwin May Sungoh from her position as Pro Vice-Chancellor of the Shillong Campus, citing serious violations of statutory procedures, lack of quorum, and breach of Ministry of Education directives. The call for resignation was made through a detailed letter addressed to Prof. Sungoh on April 8.
In the letter, the student unions asserted that Prof. Sungoh’s appointment was carried out under the authority of Vice-Chancellor Prof. P.S. Shukla, who has been on extended leave since November 3, 2024. “The process followed in your appointment, which was orchestrated under the authority of Prof. Shukla, stands as procedurally illegitimate and was not ratified by a quorum of the Executive Council, rendering it ultra vires,” they wrote.
They stated that the appointment was declared “null and void” by the acting Vice-Chancellor in November 2024, and criticized the fact that the Executive Council “did not hold a valid meeting to discuss or approve the appointment of Pro Vice-Chancellors.” They further alleged that Prof. Omkar Singh, also on leave, issued directives “without proper authorization or procedural compliance.”
The unions voiced strong concern over Prof. Sungoh’s continued alignment with Prof. Shukla, stating that his actions “have been widely opposed by all stakeholders, including Members of Parliament from Meghalaya—Dr. Ricky A. J. Syngkon (Shillong) and Mr. Saleng A. Sangma (Tura)—who have raised this issue in the ongoing parliamentary session.” The letter noted that the Ministry of Education has not yet released the findings of an inquiry into Prof. Shukla’s conduct, saying, “he remains unexonerated from serious allegations, including those reflecting anti-tribal and anti-Meghalaya sentiments.”
The student bodies also pointed to a violation of Ministry of Education guidelines that prohibit appointments to statutory positions within three months of retirement. “As your retirement is scheduled for 31st May 2025, your appointment as Pro Vice-Chancellor contravenes this directive,” they stated, adding that the same rule had been recently enforced in a comparable case by the acting Vice-Chancellor in January 2025.
“In light of these facts and in the best interest of institutional integrity, we respectfully request you to voluntarily resign from the post of Pro Vice-Chancellor of NEHU, Shillong, and Tura Campuses. Should this request go unheeded, we will be compelled to consider appropriate courses of action,” the unions warned.