Amid ongoing protests, North Eastern Hill University (NEHU) Vice-Chancellor, Professor Prabha Shankar Shukla, on Wednesday appointed Pro Vice-Chancellors for the university’s Shillong and Tura campuses in Meghalaya.
Professor Sherwin May Sungoh from the Department of Education will oversee the Shillong campus, while Dr Fameline K Marak from the Department of Garo will manage the Tura campus.
The appointments were intended to address prolonged demands from students, as well as teaching and non-teaching staff, for increased administrative leadership at both campuses.
Despite this, the North Eastern Hill University Students' Union (NEHUSU) swiftly rejected the new appointments, declaring that their primary demand remains the resignation of Vice-Chancellor Shukla.
“We do not accept this kind of appointment. It's like pouring cold water in this heat we are experiencing,” NEHUSU stated in a strongly worded message.
The union maintains that it will not recognise the Pro Vice-Chancellors’ appointments, viewing them as an attempt by Shukla to appease protests that entered their ninth consecutive day on Wednesday, with students continuing an indefinite hunger strike since November 6.
“Until and unless we come together in unison and address the fact that our only and sole demand right now is the removal or resignation of the vice-chancellor, we won't take his decisions seriously,” emphasised NEHUSU.
The union further questioned Shukla's authority to make such decisions, criticising what it termed his "remote control" of university affairs from an undisclosed location.
Meanwhile, NEHUSU president Sandy Sohtun declared that the students’ union remains resolute in its demand for Shukla's immediate resignation, refusing to engage in discussions until their demands are met.
Sohtun raised additional concerns about unauthorised promotions, alleging that Shukla had improperly elevated a close aide—formerly an assistant lab technician in the Bio-Informatics Department—to the role of assistant professor in the Zoology Department.
“We will not allow the VC to run the university from outside the campus through his close aide. We do not want him in the university anymore,” Sohtun said.
Moreover, NEHUSU and the NEHU unit of the Khasi Students' Union (KSU) reiterated their stance on Wednesday, rejecting the Pro-VC appointments and declaring their intent to press forward with the hunger strike.
The situation has drawn the attention of the Meghalaya High Court, which expressed alarm over the continued unrest. In a hearing on Wednesday, Chief Justice Indra Prasanna Mukherji and Justice B Bhattacharjee issued a warning to the Central government, setting a 20 November deadline to address the crisis.
“If the problems persist till the returnable date, we shall consider taking suo motu cognisance of the affairs and decide the matter accordingly,” the court stated, responding to a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking intervention to restore normalcy.
The university campus remains under lockdown as students maintain pressure on NEHU’s administration, also calling for the removal of Registrar Omkar Singh and Deputy Registrar Amit Gupta.
Despite the appointments of the Pro Vice-Chancellors, the protesters appear unwavering in their commitment to secure a change in leadership.
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