After a short lull, teachers and students opposed to the functioning of North-Eastern Hill University (NEHU) Vice-Chancellor Prof SK Srivastava have once again raised alleged failings in the university’s head, this time with the President of India.
The President is the Visitor of NEHU, ex-officio, and in a joint memorandum, the Meghalaya Tribal Teachers Association (MeTTA), NEHU Teachers Association (NEHUTA) and Meghalaya Confederation for Academic Welfare (MeCAW) attacked Srivastava, who the groups want removed, of “gross misuse and abuse of power”.
In a press release today, the three said that they had informed President Ram Nath Kovind that Srivastava was responsible for appointing the Pro Vice-Chancellor, Henry Lamin, thought of being in the Srivastava camp, as Chief Vigilance Officer in violation of all rules. Srivastava, they added, had also been attempting to conduct recruitment and taking policy decisions in excess of the powers that a stand-in VC has.
Lamin should have been barred from taking on the role of CVO as he is involved, as PVC, in tendering, procurement and recruitment, they said.
“Given such high-handed, arbitrary, irresponsible and irregular propensity to act, one after the other, in a serial violation of all norms by the VC and the PVC, it is necessary that the university administration needs to be relieved of this mess as soon as possible in the larger public interest,” the release stated.
