SHILLONG, March 6: The North-Eastern Hill University Students’ Union (NEHUSU) and the NEHU unit of the Khasi Students’ Union (KSU) on Thursday closed down all the varsity’s entrance gates except gate number 2 after receiving reports that Vice Chancellor Prof Prabha Shankar Shukla landed at the Guwahati Airport and was planning to resume his duties by attending his office.
At the time of filing this report, NEHUSU and KSU NEHU unit members were still inside the campus to thwart any attempt by the VC to enter the university.
They threatened to resume their hunger strike if the Centre continues to remain silent on their demand to remove Prof Shukla.
In a joint petition submitted to Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, they expressed their concerns over the status of the report of the committee that visited the university in November last year.
“If this continued silence persists, we will be left with no choice but to resume the hunger strike or take alternative measures to ensure that our grievances are addressed,” the two students’ bodies wrote in the petition.
They said the student community under no circumstances will accept Prof Shukla’s reinstatement at NEHU.
According to them, his past actions and administrative failures cannot be overlooked, and the students have remained resolute in their opposition to his return.
They urged the Ministry to provide a prompt response, disclose the committee’s findings and take a decisive action to restore faith in the governance of NEHU.
“While we remain hopeful for meaningful engagement, the students will not hesitate to escalate their efforts should their concerns continue to be ignored,” they warned.
They mentioned that they had suspended their agitation after 16 days based on the Ministry’s assurance that a committee would be sent to the university to address the pressing issues being faced by the students and take corrective actions against the prevailing mismanagement.
“However, despite the passage of four months, there has been no official communication from the Ministry regarding the committee’s findings or any subsequent measures taken in response,” NEHUSU president Sandy Sohtun and KSU’s NEHU unit president Shibaitlang Rymbai wrote in the petition.
They said the student community, along with faculty and non-teaching staff, are feeling unheard and disregarded.
According to them, as the primary stakeholders of the university, students expect transparency and accountability in matters that directly impact their academic environment and welfare.
They further stated that the prolonged silence from the Ministry has only deepened the uncertainty and frustration among the students, raising serious concerns about the commitment to resolve these long-standing issues.
“Adding to our distress, Prof Shukla has claimed to have officially resumed office from Delhi as of March 3, 2025. Reports suggest that he informed the Acting Registrar of his resumption of duties while stating that he would be in Delhi for official engagements from March 3-5. This announcement has come as a profound shock,” they said.
Meanwhile, they observed that in NEHU’s 50-year history, there has been no precedent of a VC resuming duties virtually without physically returning from earned leave – leave that Shukla has been availing for nearly four months now.
“It is highly concerning that despite the absence of any official response from the Ministry regarding the committee’s report, Prof Shukla has unilaterally declared his return. Such an action is unprecedented, unacceptable, and further erodes the confidence of the student community in the administration’s integrity,” the petition further stated.
