The Khasi Students’ Union (KSU) has asked the Ministry of Education to select a local qualified professor as Vice-Chancellor of North Eastern Hills University (NEHU).
In a representation to Union Minister of Education, Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, the KSU NEHU Unit has urged him to intervene in this matter in the best interest of the students of the State.
Stating that NEHU is the only central funded institution within the State with over 84 affiliated colleges spread all over the State and also the only premier institution within the State where students relied to further their higher education, KSU NEHU Unit president Pynshai Kupar Dkhar said that since the present Vice-Chancellor Prof. S K Srivastava’s tenure has expired, there is a need for a new Vice-Chancellor who is academically sound and competent in various disciplines and who can communicate ideas effectively, as well as to listen to the suggestions of all the stakeholders of the university.
“We need a person who knows and understand the basic requirement of the people in the State and North East region and a person who has a vision for the new generations, ensures a cordial cooperation with the teaching and non-teaching faculty and a person who will bring integrity among various tribes and communities within the university,” Dkhar said.
According to him, NEHU was established to cater to the students of the states of Meghalaya, Nagaland, and Mizoram but after the two states received their own central universities, the jurisdiction of NEHU was confined only to Meghalaya.
“The union feels that only a local professor will be a suitable person to look after the university, as he will understand the problem face by the student of our State,” Dkhar said. Alleging that NEHU has witnessed a decline in the overall University Ranking which is worrying for the students, the KSU also said that there have been many incidents where the teachers and students have openly expressed their dissatisfaction against the last two Vice-Chancellors for their inability to perform and address the underlying problems of the university.
The KSU also recalled that since 1973 only one local professor late Prof. Barrister Pakem was appointed as the Vice-Chancellor of NEHU.
