SHILLONG, May 2: The Khasi Students’ Union (KSU) on Friday announced that it will not allow NEIGRIHMS Director Prof Nalin Mehta to enter the institute’s premises until he takes concrete steps to address the union’s long-pending demands.
KSU general secretary Donald V Thabah expressed surprise that Prof Mehta had travelled to Delhi instead of resolving key concerns raised by the student body—particularly regarding the recruitment process at NEIGRIHMS.
“This clearly shows that Prof Mehta is not serious about resolving the issues plaguing the institute,” Thabah said, adding, “We stand firm in our decision: the director will not be allowed entry into NEIGRIHMS until our demands are met.”
He criticized Prof Mehta’s decision to leave for Delhi, calling it a sign of disregard for the students’ concerns. He further condemned elected representatives for remaining silent on the matter.
“It is unacceptable for our elected leaders to turn a blind eye while clinging to their positions. It is their duty to speak up for local youth who look to NEIGRIHMS for employment opportunities,” he added.
The KSU leader said the move to bar the director is a result of the state government’s failure to intervene. He said the government cannot absolve itself by stating that NEIGRIHMS is a central institution.
“The government has a responsibility to raise people’s concerns before the relevant ministry. Unfortunately, it has failed to do so—not just with NEIGRIHMS, but also NEHU,” he said.
Stating that the KSU has been holding a sit-in demonstration for over 24 hours, he said the union has plans to continue the peaceful protest until its demands are fulfilled.
He made it clear the KSU will not engage in further dialogues with the NEIGRIHMS director saying that there is no point meeting him again as he will give the same reply.
Earlier, the KSU had submitted a 10-point charter of demands to NEIGRIHMS authority seeking immediate actions. A key issue raised was alleged gender disparity in the 2023 recruitment of nursing officers through NORCET. The union criticized this as a “serious oversight,” claiming that most of the selected male candidates were “leftovers” from other institutions, and that NEIGRIHMS had failed to maintain the desired 20:80 male-to-female recruitment ratio.
Two key demands of the KSU are reinstating the upper age limit of 35 years for nursing officer posts along with age relaxation for reserved categories and suspension of the current recruitment advertisement until all concerns are addressed. The union had warned of intensifying the agitation if the demands were not addressed early.
