Editor,
The manner in which NEHU’s is conducting the administration of the affiliated colleges is unsystematic and autocratic with each passing day. Whether it is CUET-2022 or conducting semester examinations, the University neither co-ordinates nor takes the stakeholders from the affiliated colleges into confidence before arriving at any decision. It is pertinent to recall a meeting, held on 21st April 2022, which was convened by the University on the pretext of inviting suggestions from the Principals of all the colleges and deliberating on the emerging issues of CUET-2022. The Principals of affiliated colleges attended the meeting. The State Education Minister was also present along with some stakeholders from NEHU including the Vice-chancellor who left the meeting halfway. But, the meeting did not go on as expected and suggestions from the Principals went unheard. It was just to inform the Principals of the colleges that NEHU had already given its consent to UGC and Ministry of Education, Govt of India, to make CUET mandatory for admission to all the affiliated colleges. It was an austere show of diktat over the colleges that people of the region are taken for granted.
Being the lone university to which over 60 colleges in Meghalaya are affiliated, the administrators must pay heed to the crucial problems facing the students of the region unlike students of other universities and colleges in India. What was the purpose of calling the meeting when the matter was already decided? Moreover, there is a lot of misinformation/communication gap between the colleges and the University with regard to conduct of exams and implementation of academic calendar. The odd semester exams were concluded on February 21, but to the surprise of colleges the even semester exam schedule has been given. The even semesters’ exam will commence from May 25, 2022. Teachers and students got hardly three month’s time for regular classes. Normally, a semester is of six months duration. Students are agonising as they are at the receiving end of such inconsiderate and hasty decisions, but there is no voice to convey their suffering to the administrators of NEHU that take arbitrary decisions.
The University came into existence in 1974 with the sole aim of catering to the educational needs of the region and to sustain the colleges in the state. It has become a matter to be reviewed seriously whether the University has relegated this sole objective to the background. The colleges are not given information whether the upcoming semester exams will be held online or offline. When persons from some colleges call up through the Controller of Examinations (COE) office’s contact number and inquire about it, the staff of that Department who picks up the call says the Exam department has not finalized whether exams will be conducted online or offline. The examination routine has been given by the University, but it has not decided whether it will be conducted online or offline. What a chaotic, hotch-potch and irresponsible manner is NEHU running its administration. There is none to question the administrator’s whims and fancies in the administration of affiliated colleges.
Yours etc.,
Wanjop U Laloo,
Via email
Cabbies: Daylight extortionists?
Editor,
I love walking not only because of the physical benefits it provides but simply because it is something that I love to do. For whatever distance I may have to cover, walking seems to be the best way for me except under certain circumstances, for instance, if I need to travel further than Shillong or if it were an emergency, only then would I board public transport. And with the traffic jams in Shillong not seeming to get better, walking would likely seem to be a viable option.
However, recently, I had to use public transport, specifically a cab due to the ongoing rains in Shillong and also because I was trying to avoid getting sick as everyone around me seems to be catching a cold or a sore throat due to the changing weather. I have not travelled in a cab for some time especially since the pandemic and also because of my love for walking. As I got in the cab, there was already a passenger inside and the cab driver filled it up to its seating capacity of 5 persons. When I reached my destination, I took out a 50 rupee note and handed it to the driver who surprisingly handed me back a 10 rupee note. I asked him how much the cab fare from Malki to Nongthymmai was and he answered that it was 40 rupees which to my knowledge used to be 20 rupees. My brother lives in Laitkor and cab fares from Laitkor to Nongthymmai used to be 20 rupees per head, which to my surprise is now 50 rupees per head.
Last month, I met someone who was travelling from Motphran to Madanryting. I was shocked when they told me the cab driver had charged Rs 80 per head. Some cabs even stack passengers like bags of potatoes. As far as I can remember, cab fares were initially hiked during the pandemic due to the reduced seating capacity and so that the cab drivers should not have to suffer unduly due to the pandemic. However, now seating capacities have returned to the normal 5 passengers, then why are cab fares being hiked? Should the fares also not reduce as the hike was due to the reduction in seating capacity.
Some drivers complain that the hike in petrol prices pokes a hole in their pockets, but isn’t that true of passengers too, especially if one has to commute daily by using public transport? This is one reason why many choose to travel by bus or the mini SPTS buses in Shillong as their rates are more reasonable than cabs.
Another trend of the cabbies in Shillong is to refuse to ferry a passenger to his/her destination. There are certain cities in India where you can just get in a cab and they take you anywhere you want to go without having to ask them first. The same goes for countries outside India. Cabs in Shillong, however have fastidious drivers who refuse to go to certain locations on the plea that there’s “too much traffic jam” or “if I went there, I would lose trips as I would be able to cover two trips if I went elsewhere”.
I have had one too many encounters of cabbies refusing to take me to a specific destination but if I say I will reserve the entire cab the driver would readily drop me there at a cost arbitrarily decided by him. If this is not daylight extortion, then what is?
It is therefore incumbent upon the Transport Department to set a specific rate and to ensure that passengers are not ripped off. While the sharp hike in petrol prices does affect cab drivers there has to be a rationale for raising fares so that the middle class which has to use public transport daily is not fleeced.
Yours etc.,
Cassandra Gatphoh
Shillong – 14
Dereliction of duty
Editor,
The lack of synergy across all departments has been exposed yet again with the latest images of the appalling conditions meted to the sportspersons preparing for the Meghalaya Games. The visuals have spread like wildfire. 50 years of statehood and zero preparedness shows that the officials, babus and a sports minister who keeps on having a gala time whenever he speaks in the Assembly reminds me of the book Tharoorosaurus written by Shashi Tharoor and a word ‘Kakistocracy’ meaning a government which is ruled by incompetent individuals. This is exactly what fits into the picture. Instead, the Sports Department should have acted as professional ambassadors for the game to create a positive image for Northeast India.
Sports and its various disciplines are something which western nations are serious about and on top of their game because practice is 365 days. Politics is left out of the picture, thereby creating a seamless support system from top to bottom. Enough of words; deeds matter because what is reflected in the current scenario is the start of the blame game. Our sports persons from the state deserve quality training, logistics and good dietary management to make them winners. Former Navy SEAL Brent Gleeson, speaking on leadership mentions that integrity matters on and off the battlefield. Alas! there are ample examples of leaders in our state who lack both integrity and accountability. Definitely this is a wake-up call for the state and heads should start rolling.
Yours etc.,
Christopher Gatphoh,
Shillong-10H