Faced with a looming strike called for by the Joint Action Committee (JAC) at North-Eastern Hill University (NEHU), the university administration has sought to address each of the points raised by the conglomeration of teachers, non-teaching staff and students.
The JAC was formed primarily over the implementation of the National Education Policy 2020 but other issues have now taken priority, chief among them being the drive for the removal of a technical officer/senior consultant by the VC, which the JAC has deemed illegal.
Other demands include the appointment of statutory officers and university engineer; fix the “deteriorating condition” of the NEHU health centre; relieving teaching and technical staff from “ministerial duties”; upload NEHU acts, statutes and ordinances on the university website; need to hold “regular” convocations; changes to the marking system; inclusion of elected members of the NEHU Students Union on the Academic Council; and review of educationally backward area quota from block to village level. The indefinite strike is set to begin on November 13.
Responding to the demands, Vice-Chancellor PS Shukla did not budge on the issue of the appointee, Rohit Prasad, saying that he had satisfactorily explained its legality last week.
“As far as the appointment of statutory officers and university engineer are concerned, the interview for the posts have been slotted for November 20 and 22 and the preparation for the same is ongoing.”
While speaking about the other demands of the JAC, the VC added, “concerning the university health centre, the committee has taken appropriate steps and the required purchases have been started from the portal” as mandated by the central government, approval of which has been accorded on November 1. Purchases and procurements have to go through the Government e Marketplace (GeM) portal.
Regarding the demand on relieving teaching and technical staff from ministerial duties, Shukla stated that “the teaching staff performing additional duty in the administration is for smooth transaction of routine work of the university so that university functioning does not get delayed and the teachers will be automatically relieved once the posts are filled up for which the requisite advertisement and recruitment process is ongoing.”
Only teaching staff who consent to the additional work are given ministerial duties and NEHU is “grateful to them for their cooperation in helping with the administrative work”. Non-teaching staff, meanwhile, have been seconded for ministerial work even before Shukla joined the university, he added.
NEHU also stated that the university statutes and acts are already available on the university website and that “making issues out of non-issues can only tarnish the image of the university and the concerned are appealed to verify the facts before declaring them as protest agenda.”
As far as convocations go, the university administration mentioned that holding them is dependent on consent and schedule of the chief guest and Chancellor, for which the Union Ministry of Education has to confirm.
Furthermore, the marking system in the university examinations “is a policy decision adopted as per the NEP 2020 regulations and any amendments required thereon have to be placed in the Academic Council.”
“The university during the current period is in the peak of academic activities with syllabus coverage and examinations scheduled during the first part of December and disruptions in the form of indefinite strikes and protest without verifying the facts will hamper these activities affecting the academic atmosphere of the university,” Shukla said.
“The University appeals to the concerned to come across the table, discuss and verify on the status of the points raised and the steps taken by the university rather than going out and protesting without updating on the same as the protesting groups are also part of the university and are aware of the progress and steps taken by the university on the charter of demands. This will help the university to function normally and deliver our tasks which are for the academic and overall benefit of our students in general having amicably sorted out the issues concerning the implementation of NEP 2020. Any disruptions at this time of the academic year will disturb not only the timely completion of syllabus but also the smooth conduct of examinations which concerns the student community for which the university is primarily established for,” he added.
