Today, November 12, the North East Students' Organisation (NESO) urged Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan to intervene in the North Eastern Hill University (NEHU) crisis. To protect the overall interests of the students of the NE region, the students demand the removal of Vice-Chancellor PS Shukla. The NESO is a conglomeration of eight student bodies from all NE states.

Speaking on this, the NESO Chairman Samuel B Jyrwa said, "We have formally written to the union education minister backing the demands of the students of the university to sack Vice-Chancellor PS Shukla."

"The intervention of the union education minister in this regard would ensure that the quality of education in the region and the country is not compromised," he said, reported PTI.

Meanwhile, the ongoing indefinite hunger strike launched by the students of the university under the banner of the NEHU Students' Union (NEHUSU) and the KSU NEHU Unit continued, affecting the functioning of NEHU.

Allegations

The NESO blamed Shukla for the decline in the university's rankings. Prior to PS Shukla's term as VC, NEHU was consistently ranked within the top 60 universities nationally. However, under his leadership, the university's ranking has plummeted to range between 100-150, they claimed.

On November 11, the VC convened a meeting of the university Executive Committee (EC) via virtual mode.

A source close to the VC said that the EC had formally okayed a proposal to probe the appointment of the registrar and deputy registrar whose "competence" was questioned by the students and the faculty.

Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma has also briefed the union education minister on the imbroglio at NEHU.

"Briefed the Honble Minister Education @dpradhanbjp ji on the ongoing situation in NEHU and urged him to find an amicable solution to this issue," the chief minister had posted on X on November 10.