From Our Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI, Feb 3: Shillong MP Ricky AJ Syngkon met Union Minister for Textiles Giriraj Singh on Tuesday and urged him to immediately fill the vacant posts of full-time Director, sanctioned administrative positions and regular faculty across disciplines at NIFT Shillong to make it fully functional as per its mission and vision.
He further urged the minister to consider initiating appropriate corrective measures, including the appointment of a regular Director at NIFT at the earliest.
He said the absence of stable leadership at the institutional level resulted in a lack of continuity in administrative and academic decision-making and limited capacity for long-term planning and institutional development. “An institute of national importance such as NIFT requires consistent leadership to maintain academic standards and administrative efficiency. Prolonged dependence on interim arrangements is neither desirable nor sustainable,” the MP said in a letter to the minister.
He said in addition to the absence of a regular Director, chronic administrative understaffing, and faculty vacancies point to systemic deficiencies that are affecting both governance and academic delivery at NIFT Shilong.
The academic vacancy report of last year highlights an acute shortage of regular faculty members across disciplines, making the institute to rely heavily on contractual or visiting faculty, the letter read. It added that all these have a direct bearing on the quality of instruction, faculty-student engagement, mentoring, and the continuity of academic, thereby undermining the academic environment of the institute.
These issues are not isolated but inter-connected, and their cumulative impact is detrimental to the interests of students, faculty, and the institution as a whole, Syngkon said.
According to him, strengthening the institutional capacity of NIFT Shillong is essential to ensure that it functions in line with the standards expected of a national institute and fulfils its mandate effectively, particularly in the northeastern region.
Established in 2008, NIFT Shillong is a premier public fashion institute located in the scenic Umsawli area. As part of the prestigious NIFT network, it serves as a creative hub for the Northeast, blending professional fashion education with local craft and textile traditions.
