Editor,
As a former student of NEHU I have been a victim of the irregular manner in which examinations are conducted and results declared. NEHU takes so much more time than any other university in the country and does not care about the students’ welfare, and I write this with conviction as I’ve seen many of the young students suffering at the time seeking admission or appearing for national level entrance examinations. A permanent Vice Chancellor has been appointed after a long time and one assumes that with a regular VC in place the various administrative departments will function more be smoothly. But I am saddened that this is not the case. Many of my ex-students who are now studying in NEHU are upset over the delay in publication of results this year and also the holding of the convocation. Most of the Masters Degree Departments were very late in giving out their results this year, some stretching to October. As a result many students have missed many competitive and higher education examinations. In the first week of October a notification regarding the convocation was released by the University stating that it would take place sometime in the third week of November. Now we are in the third week but there is as yet no news of the convocation. Without the convocation students will not get their original degrees and rank certificates which are imperative to be produced in most institutions of higher education. Rumours have been doing the rounds, that the event might get delayed until next year.
This robs the chances of many students to attend the event, which they so want to for the love of the University and also because of the successful completion of their courses. I see many students religiously checking the website everyday for news but they are disappointed all the time. I write this letter to ask the University authorities why they are delaying such an important event when the careers of many students depend on it? I request the student organisation of NEHU like NEHUSU to kindly take up the matter with the authorities, so that students who are planning to shift out next year at least get to attend the convocation this year. It is to improve the systems in universities that vigilance is required, and I request the esteemed university to kindly take steps to hold the convocation this year so that those who are due to get their certificates are able to attend, for without students, the institution would be just an empty building.
Yours etc.,
N Purkayastha Bhatt
Shillong-4
Student’s protest and aftermath
Editor,
The bizarre action against the students of Kiang Nangbah Govt. College is a sad experience; a brutal ‘Drive Away Attack’ of the so called ‘Authority,’ followed by the polished response of the Hon’ble Minister of Education is satirical. Indeed, ‘Students in the Street’ is a bad idea. But who is to blame here? It is neither a blunder of one person, nor a group. Such incidents happen for multiple reasons. This is a system in ruins. Firstly, the long pathetic pedagogy! Where students are expected to learn the skill of reading and writing they were told to memorize some texts, gain good marks, get a job to profess inhumanely in a diplomatic style. Actually, this is a utopia. The irony is if the conscientized learner makes any efforts, the aftermath is atrocious. This is a pseudo educational configuration. Secondly, it should be reminded that; ‘Authority is Responsibility.’ The democratic essence of the land should not be tampered with a Lathi Mutiny or Tear Gas Phobia. There must be a converging balance keeping aside all influences. Here is a need for a revolutionary change towards a new paradigm.
Thirdly, it is a systematically driven failure. The current political trend popularized as law making turns instead into a tool of massive subjugation, suppression and even polarization. The voice of the disadvantaged makes no sense in the politicized climate. The absence of space for articulating public grievances makes things difficult for the large majority of people. The selected few, the protagonists, the law makers are elated at the disastrous fate of the commoner. The crux of the matter is to let the educationist take home a check list. Meanwhile, may the learner understand that if every season has its wind, every road has its path; therefore, every effect has its cause. Furthermore, when might is right, it only hinders from reaching the goal. Tomorrow seems to be too late for the tables to turn. The law with its hinge is expected to set a line of security with certainty not to create a larger socio- disorder. Here and now, it is high time to say adieu to tyrannical social interaction.
Yours etc.,
Lamjingshai O Garod
Raliang