By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Oct 29: The Joint Action Committee (JAC) comprising NEHUTA, NEHUSU, and NEHUNSA has decided to intensify its agitation against NEHU Vice Chancellor, Prabha Shankar Shukla by resorting to a non-cooperation movement starting with the Academic Council meeting on October 31.
The JAC took this decision in view of the VC’s failure to comply with the deadline to remove the “illegally appointed” contractual technical officer/senior consultant, Rohit Prasad by midnight of October 26.
JAC chairman, Lakhon Kma on Sunday said the VC neither accepted the deadline for removing Prasad nor initiated any process to fulfill the long-pending issues of the three NEHU associations. “We have been left with no alternative other than going ahead with an all-out protest starting with the non-participation in the 111th Academic Council meeting scheduled to be held on Tuesday,” he said.
He said the VC was supposed to fulfill the JAC’s demands in a time-bound manner other than removing Prasad immediately. The demands include the immediate appointment of the statutory officers, a university engineer, and the director of the CDC.
“The VC should undertake steps to address the deteriorating condition of the University Health Centre (non-availability of medicines, lack of testing facilities, etc.),” Kma said.
Among the other demands of the JAC are issuing an advertisement for recruitment in non-teaching posts, procurement of chemicals and reagents needed for the practical and research work of Ph.D. scholars, relieving the teaching faculties and technical staff of ministerial duties, holding of regular convocations, and plugging security lapses within the campus.
“We will organise a general assembly of the JAC on Tuesday coinciding with the Academic Council meeting to deliberate on our agenda. All the members of the JAC, Meghalaya Tribal Teachers’ Association, and the Research Scholars’ Forum, NEHU have been requested to attend the assembly positively,” Kma said.
If the JAC’s demands are not fulfilled in a time-bound manner, the non-cooperation movement would be intensified, he added.
“We hope the VC understands the seriousness of JAC’s demands and acts accordingly for the overall well-being of NEHU,” he added.