By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Nov 16: The North-Eastern Hill University Students’ Union (NEHUSU) and the Khasi Students’ Union (KSU) NEHU Unit expressed their lack of confidence in the two-member committee instituted by the Ministry of Education to investigate alleged irregularities at the university.
“We are not confident that the inquiry will address our primary demand for the removal of Vice Chancellor Prabha Shankar Shukla,” said NEHUSU general secretary Toniho S Kharsati.
Kharsati voiced disappointment that the Ministry ignored the names suggested by the student bodies for inclusion in the committee. “We had submitted our recommendations for committee members, but none of the names we proposed were included when the notification for the committee was issued,” he said.
The student leader further alleged that the process appears orchestrated. “It seems scripted. The VC has conveniently gone on leave for exactly the 15 days allocated for the committee to submit its report. This cannot be a coincidence. We suspect that the inquiry committee has been formed to shield the VC rather than hold him accountable,” Kharsati remarked.
It is worth noting that the Ministry of Education has set up a two-member committee to investigate allegations of administrative mismanagement and irregularities at the North-Eastern Hill University (NEHU). The committee, headed by Prof DP Singh, former Chairman of the University Grants Commission, and including Prof Dilip Chandra Nath, former Vice Chancellor of Assam University, is tasked with submitting its report and recommendations for corrective actions within 15 days, according to an official order issued on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Vice Chancellor Shukla proceeded on leave starting Friday. In an email addressed to the Registrar, Prof Shukla cited “unavoidable circumstances” as the reason for taking Earned Leave (EL), which officially begins on November 17 and ends on November 29, with the possibility of an extension.
Whereas senior-most professor, Nirmalendu Saha, took charge as the Acting Vice Chancellor of NEHU on Friday.