Teachers of North Eastern Hill University (NEHU) have stopped setting or moderating questions papers of the first semester undergraduate programme under the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
The teachers resorted to this action following a call by NEHU Teachers’ Association (NEHUTA) which was angered by the failure of the university vice chancellor Prof. Prabha Shankar Shukla to withdraw the letter of July 12, 2023 issued to the principals of all affiliated colleges to implement the NEP.
As decided by the NEHUTA in its general body meeting on August 26, its members have abstained from setting and moderating question papers of the first semester under the NEP at the undergraduate level for different subjects.
Moreover, the NEHU Academic Council is yet to decide on the model question papers under NEP for undergraduate programmes which are required as per NEHU Ordinance so that there is uniformity in the pattern of question paper setting across all subjects.
“In the absence of model question papers, no teacher can set the questions and hence it cannot be moderated. Without these procedures, undergraduate examinations for the first semester based on NEP cannot be held,” NEHUTA president Prof. Lakhon Kma said today.
Prof. Kma also said that NEHU is unnecessary playing with the careers of the undergraduate students by being in hurry to implement the NEP illegitimately without the approval of the Academic Council, when it is not yet prepared or ready to implement NEP in totality in absence of discussions on model question papers in the Academic Council.
He also said that syllabus of all subjects from the third to eight semester is yet to be prepared, discussed and approved by respective Board of Studies of different departments and their School Boards and finally to be discussed and approved by the Academic Council.
“It is a long process that’s why the vice chancellor cannot unilaterally implement the NEP hastily and illegitimately. All these are required as per NEHU Statute and Ordinance which require the approval of the Academic Council. Without these mandatory procedures, NEP at undergraduate level in affiliated colleges will be null and void and a disaster of epic proportion which will spoil the careers of our first semester students,” Prof. Kma concluded.
