Meghalaya: Khasi students union locks NEHU VC’s office, serves one-week ultimatum to address issues

The Khasi Students Union (KSU) of North Eastern Hills University (NEHU) locked the office of the vice chancellor from entering his office which led to a heated argument on September 22, 2022, on failing to meet the several demands put up by the students.

The members of the KSU NEHU Unit gathered at the administration building and locked the office of the VC of NEHU Prof. Prabha Shankar Shukla, preventing him from entering demanding face-to-face dialogue to discuss various issues of the students and the university as a whole.

The student union put up several demands on the VC - shortage of faculties, lack of transportation for students, health care, and poor maintenance of hostel facilities among many others.

The general secretary of KSU NEHU Shibaitlang Rymbai informed the media personnel that the University is in urgent need of faculties as the university is the incapability of filling up the various vacancies which have adversely affected the student community as a whole.

"Students from various departments have yet to attend classes on some papers due to non-availability of such faculties even though the semester started almost two months ago," said Rymbai.

Rymbai informed that even though the guest faculties recruitment is under process but it is processing a slow-moving process leading to a disadvantage for the students.

Due to the less availability of University transportation which hinders the students who rely on the university’s buses and Rymbai alleged that due to the insufficiency of transportation led to the congestion of the NEHU buses and students suffered the most.

He added that health care facilities in the university lack quality medicines and students are forced to buy medicines from outside the campus which had affected the students, especially those students hailing from the low-income family background.

When it comes to hostel facilities, Rymbai alleged that the hostels are in the worst condition and required immediate intervention to cater to the need of the students from far-flung the state and outside the state.

"Though the maintenance processes are underway, the sluggish rate by which it is being processed puts the students at a disadvantage and boarders have been facing hardships and difficulty in studying and staying in the hostel and this will impede their academic activities," said Rymbai.

In this regard, the general secretary of KSU NEHU Shibaitlang Rymbai said that the students will give one week time to the VC to address the plight of the students and the university as a whole at the earliest for the betterment of the students community.