SHILLONG: KHNAM MLA, Adelbert Nongrum, has stressed on the need to appoint a qualified academician from ‘‘local tribal’’ community as the successor to the incumbent NEHU Vice-Chancellor SK Srivastava.
“The situation in NEHU calls for intense public demand to appoint a qualified academician from local tribal community or from the homegrown well-ensconced rank of professors so that NEHU does not suffer from incompetence of a newcomer from outside,” Nongrum said in a statement.
Raising questions over the appointment of Srivastava as the vice-chancellor, Adelbert said that in the selection process of Srivastava, one notices a handwritten insertion “in the alphabetical order” signed by the then Convener, of which seemingly the other members, former IAS officer WMS Pariat and Prof T Karunskaran are seemingly not a party.
“So thinking that it is in the interest of fairness and transparency, I have written a letter to WMS Pariat, an esteemed member of the search-cum-selection committee and I am still awaiting his response,” the KHNAM MLA said.
Adelbert also said that the continuation of Srivastava as the vice-chancellor raises questions of propriety and transparency. With regard to the recent demand of Health Minister AL Hek, who apprised the HRD Minister on the need to appoint a new VC for NEHU, Adelbert said, “It is important to know whether the health minister has been able to raise the public demand for qualified local professor as vice-chancellor so that NEHU could come back to glory.”
