By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, May 12: The North Eastern Hill University Non-Teaching Staff Association (NEHUNSA) has petitioned the Education Ministry against the administrative crisis at the university, citing a severe manpower shortage and the alleged “abandonment” of the headquarters by Vice-Chancellor Prof. PS Shukla.
In a letter addressed to the Secretary of the Ministry of Education, the association stated that the working environment at NEHU has been severely disrupted.
According to NEHUNSA, the university is currently operating with only 186 regular non-teaching staff members against a sanctioned strength of 526. It warned that while casual employees are currently maintaining stability, the situation is becoming unsustainable due to an increasing rate of retirements and the denial of time-bound promotions for deserving staff.
The association leveled sharp allegations against the vice chancellor, accusing him of failing to address legitimate recruitment requests for several years. The petition further alleged that the vice chancellor had shown a lack of engagement with administrative concerns, focusing instead on “personal advancement and favouritism”.
A major point of contention raised by the association is the vice chancellor’s prolonged absence from the Shillong campus of NEHU.
NEHUNSA pointed out that in November 2024, Prof. Shukla moved his office to a different state approximately 100 kilometres away from the headquarters, claiming it to be a “camp office”.
“However, this arrangement does not align with the Acts and Statutes of our University and seems designed for his convenience, distancing him from the visibility and accountability required by NEHU employees,” it said.
The association also linked the vice chancellor’s leadership to the decline in NEHU’s National Institutional Rankings Framework (NIRF) standings.
“Currently, the university is functioning without a constitutional head authorised to make decisions for the welfare of the community,” the letter stated.
