TURA, Oct 29: Various organisations from Garo Hills, under the banner of All Garo Hills Joint Action Committee (AGHJAC), on Friday staged a demonstration outside the Tura campus of North-Eastern Hill University (NEHU) in protest against the University’s alleged failure to admit students from Garo Hills in its Shillong campus.
The protesting organisations are now demanding that departments in both the University campuses be set up equally if it is unable to benefit the students from the region of Garo Hills.g
The conglomeration has also called for inclusive admission of students from Garo Hills in departments such as Zoology, Mathematics, History, Political Science and Geography, while arguing that due to the COVID-19 pandemic situation, those deprived students will not get admission in other universities.
“All the meritorious students from Garo Hills should be allowed to take admission for the academic session 2021-2022 and the number of seats in every department must be increased, based on the ever-increasing population in the state. Also, in consequence of the popular demand from Garo Hills, the Tura campus must be allocated with more departments in lieu with the existing departments,” demanded the organisations.
The demonstration was attended by members of GSU, GSMC, among others.
Later, a delegation of the AGHJAC, led by its adviser Roger Benny A Sangma, submitted a memorandum to NEHU Vice Chancellor Prof. Prabha Shankar Shukla through Pro Vice Chancellor, NEHU Tura, demanding that a local Pro Vice Chancellor ought to administer the Tura Campus so as to not only address the grievances of the students but to also bring positive reforms in the University’s Tura Campus.
The Vice Chancellor, on the other hand, has reportedly assured over the phone that he will visit the Tura Campus after Diwali celebrations and will look into the issue.
The AGHJAC has also cautioned that should their demands are fallen on deaf ears, they will not hesitate in resuming their protest.