Shillong, Dec 16: North-Eastern Hill University’s Pro Vice-Chancellor Sumarlin Umdor resigned amid prolonged unrest on the campus, officials said on Tuesday.
Faculty associations and students’ bodies have been demanding Umdor’s resignation for weeks, claiming that the continuation of the existing administrative arrangement failed to restore normalcy at the central varsity.
The demand gained momentum following repeated protests over governance issues, delays in key statutory decisions and the perceived inability of the pro-VC to function independently in the absence of a Vice-Chancellor.
The varsity has been witnessing unrest for over a year, triggered primarily by the demand for VC PS Shukla’s removal over various allegations, including that he was favouring non-locals in recruitment in the varsity.
The protests had forced Shukla to leave the campus last year, leading to further turmoil. Students, teachers and non-teaching staff have repeatedly alleged administrative paralysis, despite assurances made by the Union Ministry of Education to restore stability.
Several rounds of agitation, class boycotts and shutdowns have plagued the varsity for months. To bring stability, Umdor was entrusted with the responsibility for day-to-day academic and administrative functioning.
Officials said that despite the turbulent atmosphere, the academic calendar was maintained, with end-of-semester undergraduate and postgraduate examinations conducted on time.
The turmoil also led to the resignation of the registrar, the finance officer and senior faculty members, who had been holding additional administrative charges.
In his resignation letter, Umdor said the absence of essential support systems and continued uncertainty over key institutional decisions made it untenable to continue in office in the best interests of the university.
Meanwhile, the same organisations that called for and secured Umdor’s resignation have now pressed the Pro-VC of the NEHU Tura campus to follow suit.
They said that the university is currently functioning under extraordinary circumstances, marked by the absence of a regular VC, severe administrative instability, and the resignation of key functionaries, resulting in institutional paralysis. Under these circumstances, the continuation of Pro-VCs in office, without the ability to function independently and effectively, is no longer tenable. (with PTI inputs)
