The Hynñiewtrep Youth Council (HYC) today met with the Deputy Director of NEIGRIHMS to raise concerns over the recent advertisement for recruitment of 107 nursing officer posts at the institute.
The meeting focused on two key issues, gender imbalance in nursing recruitment and the location of examination centres.
HYC president Roy Kupar Synrem told reporters that there is an over-representation of male nurses, raising serious concerns about safety in the workplace.
He alleged that there had been incidents of sexual harassment, including a case of molestation involving a junior resident doctor, which has been suppressed from public knowledge.
The organisation warned that if the current recruitment does not specify gender ratio, it could further increase the number of male nurses, leading to potential risks for female staff and patients.
The HYC said other institutions such as AIIMS, ESIC, and RIMS keep the gender ratio at 80:20 gender ratio (80 per cent female and 20 per cent male nurses) in their recruitment advertisements.
It demanded that NEIGRIHMS issue a corrigendum or addendum to ensure the same ratio is maintained during the recruitment process.
“We cannot accept a situation where NEIGRIHMS becomes dominated by male nurses. It is a matter of community concern, especially when it comes to sensitive areas like labour rooms and pediatric care,” Synrem stated.
The HYC also demanded that recruitment examinations be conducted within Meghalaya, ensuring that local youth have fair access to job opportunities.
While the Deputy Director assured that there would be an examination centre in Meghalaya for local candidates, the HYC insisted that all examination centres should be limited to the Northeast region and not outside.
“The name NEIGRIHMS itself signifies that the institute is meant for the North Eastern region. If the examination cannot be conducted exclusively in Meghalaya, it should at least be held in the capital cities of other Northeast states,” the HYC argued.
The Deputy Director, however, informed the HYC that he is not authorised to make final decisions and that their demands would be forwarded to the Director for consideration.
The HYC warned that they would not accept any recruitment process unless the demands are met and gave the institute seven days to respond.
