North-Eastern Hill University (NEHU) has gotten a new Vice-Chancellor but it also needs a new pro-VC to put the legacy of the controversial Prof SK Srivastava behind the institution, the Meghalaya Confederation for Academic Welfare (MeCAW) said today.
A delegation from MeCAW paid a visit to the new VC, Prof Prabha Shankar Shukla, as a courtesy call.
Srivastava, in his six years as VC, has presided over “serial anomalies and gross flouting of rules”, MeCAW told Shukla, but many of the alleged scams that have plagued the university could not have been carried out without the connivance of the pro-VC, Prof Henry Lamin, or Registrar, JK Nayak.
MeCAW therefore cautioned the new VC against providing any positions to Lamin or Nayak, so that a full inquiry into the alleged scams can take place freely and independently.
Another legacy of Srivastava’s time at NEHU, MeCAW claimed, is the university’s poor national ranking. In order to lift the institution higher once again, the organisation of students and staff urged the appointment of a local and qualified person as new pro-VC of the Shillong campus.
MeCAW assured full cooperation to Shukla and expressed hope that he would be able to lead NEHU in reclaiming its past glory.
