By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, May 23: The North-Eastern Hill University Teachers’ Association (NEHUTA) has warned students to avoid the fourth year of the new Four-Year Undergraduate Programme (FYUP), advising them to stick to the traditional system due to the university’s failure to establish a clear transition to postgraduate studies.
NEHUTA president Lakhon Kma told reporters that students completing their third year currently face a “safer option” by enrolling in the existing two-year Master’s programme. He cautioned that continuing into the fourth year of FYUP involves significant risk, as NEHU has yet to finalize the mechanism for the proposed one-year Master’s degree.
“If students exit after the third year and pursue the two-year Master’s programme, their academic path is clear because that system is already in place. But if they continue into the fourth year, there is uncertainty since the university has not prepared the transition mechanism,” Kma said.
Criticising the university’s approach, Kma stated that NEHU reversed the logical “bottom-up” implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP). Instead of evolving semester by semester from the undergraduate level, the university introduced changes at the postgraduate level first, disrupting natural academic progression.
The association highlighted that the university is now struggling to redesign its syllabus and academic structure to link the FYUP’s fourth year with postgraduate courses. Kma noted that NEHU cannot immediately phase out the two-year Master’s programme while the transition remains incomplete.
Recalling previous protests by NEHUTA and the Meghalaya College Teachers’ Association (MCTA), Kma alleged that the university and the state government rushed the NEP rollout despite warnings about inadequate infrastructure, curriculum frameworks, and classroom facilities.
“We clearly stated at that time that the university was not ready. We opposed it because we did not want the future of students to be affected,” Kma said, adding that the teachers’ concerns were ignored, leading to a “haphazard implementation.”
NEHUTA is now calling for urgent deliberations within the university’s Academic Council to address these infrastructure and curriculum gaps to prevent further jeopardy to students’ academic futures.
NEHUTA welcomes move to appoint new VC
Seeking to arrest a historic decline in Meghalaya’s premier central university, the Ministry of Education has officially kickstarted the search for a new Vice-Chancellor to replace Prof. PS Shukla, whose tenure the NEHUTA has branded the “worst” in the institution’s 50-year history.
The Ministry issued the advertisement on May 20, a move NEHUTA termed “long overdue.” The new appointment will replace Prof. Shukla, whose term is scheduled to end on July 25.
The search comes at a critical juncture for NEHU, which has been marred by persistent strikes, administrative paralysis, and a plummeting national ranking under the current leadership. NEHUTA president Lakhon Kma revealed that the association recently petitioned the President of India, the Union Education Ministry, and state authorities to question why the advertisement was delayed despite the Ministry reportedly directing the university to initiate the process in February.
“We are relieved the Ministry is finally taking the matter seriously,” Kma said. “The advertisement was delayed, but there is finally a move toward change.”
Kma stressed that the incoming Vice-Chancellor faces a “rescue mission” to restore an institution currently in crisis. He highlighted severe financial constraints, stalled recruitment, and a total neglect of infrastructure as the primary challenges for Prof. Shukla’s successor.
“The university needs leadership with academic credibility and administrative capability—someone sensitive to the aspirations of students and staff,” Kma said. “The next VC must address the financial crisis and take remedial measures to bring the university back on track.”
With the appointment process potentially taking months, NEHUTA expressed hope that the Ministry would expedite the search to ensure a smooth transition. Kma clarified that university statutes provide no room for an extension of the incumbent’s term. If a permanent replacement is not found by July 26, the senior-most professor will be required to take charge in an interim capacity.
Addressing the criteria for the post, Kma stated that the association is prioritising integrity over identity. “We are not concerned whether the person is local or non-local,” he said. “We want a Vice-Chancellor who is ready to work for the university and carry all stakeholders together.”
