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The long-delayed adjourned 113th Academic Council meeting of North Eastern Hill University (NEHU), which was supposed to take place in October last year, finally reconvened on Wednesday amid fresh controversy. NEHU Students’ Union general secretary Toniho Kharsati alleged that the meeting had been postponed due to the “incompetency and ill behaviour” of former Vice Chancellor Prof. P.S. Shukla and the then-Registrar.
“So this academic council meeting that we are having today is the adjourned academic council meeting which was supposed to happen last year in the month of October. So the last year in the month of October the academic council meeting was supposed to happen but due to the incompetency and due to the ill behaviour by the Vice Chancellor and the Registrar, they had disrupted and we couldn’t really convene the academic council meeting. This meeting that we are having today is just the adjourned meeting of the 113 Academic Council meeting, which was supposed to happen in the month of October last year,” Kharsati said.
Responding to criticism reportedly made by Prof. Shukla from outside the state, Kharsati questioned the legality of such interventions. “What is illegal is actually him dictating from an area where it is not under the jurisdiction of the University just to make it very clear if you read as per the Act and Statutes of the University, it clearly says the jurisdiction of this University is made to cater the needs of the people in Meghalaya. Now a person who is not present in station and giving his statements—that is illegal. We find out that his acts are more illegal,” he said.
Kharsati defended the authority of the acting Vice Chancellor to hold the meeting. “With regard to this particular meeting—this Academic Council meeting—it is very clear that the VC in charge has the full authority to convene meetings. When it comes to academic meetings, they also have the authority to even convene Academic Council meeting, Executive Committee meeting and FC as well. So, the only thing which the VC in charge is not entitled to do is to the appointment and fill up the vacancies,” he stated.
Referring to Prof. Shukla’s objections to the legality of the council session, Kharsati added, “As far as Professor Shukla calling this as illegal—from the student union side, we feel that it is just another attempt of him and especially the language which he has used, he is a complete threatening the VC in charge who has been working tirelessly in bringing in the normality back to the campus.”
Kharsati further warned of the real risk to students’ futures if such meetings are not convened. “Just to highlight this point that he also said that the lives of many students will be jeopardised, especially with regards to the degrees of the students. What will actually jeopardise is the fact that if we do not have academic council meeting,” he said.
He pointed out that with the implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP), major academic reforms are underway in NEHU and its affiliated colleges—raising critical questions that need institutional deliberation. “Now, we are having problems with regards to this FYU – four years undergraduate program. The NEP says that we have the concept of four years programming; later on, the students can come and pursue for their PhD directly. But what about those students who don’t get that particular marks—the 75 percent marks? How will the university accommodate all these things?”
The program said the students completing a four-year undergraduate program with a minimum of 75% marks are eligible to directly pursue a PhD.
Kharsati maintained that these challenges were never adequately addressed by Prof. Shukla when he agreed to implement NEP reforms. “These things were never been taken into consideration by Professor P.S. Shukla while he accepted NEP despite so much criticism,” he said.
He concluded by stressing that the meeting is essential to discuss key academic issues. “This academic council that is being called today is regards to discuss all this matters, especially with the coming of the NEP. We see that there are more numbers of syllabus, more numbers of credits that are being added. So to discuss all these matters, this academic council meeting is being called. And now to term this as an illegal—we find that this particular thing had not merit, why? Because the Vice Chancellor in charge acted under the ambit of NEHU Act and Statutes.”
