KSU to oppose move to re-open NEHU

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaJune 5, 2020

The Khasi Students’ Union (KSU) on Friday said that it will strongly oppose any move to re-open the North Eastern Hill University (NEHU) in view of the rise in COVID-19 cases even suggestion the need to cancel all examinations.

In a letter to the vice chancellor Prof SK Srivastava, the KSU said re-opening of the University at such a situation where COVID cases are rising day by day in spite of all the necessary measures and precautions taken by the government may have drastic consequences to the safety and security of the State which is not at all advisable by the Union.

“Thus, the Union vehemently opposed any such insensible decision if taken by the University which may cause a potential threat to the lives of the citizens of the State,” it said.

The letter also said that reopening of the University to allow all the outstation students into the State will possess an undeniable high threat and risk to the students and citizens of Meghalaya as it is evident from the fact and circumstances that all the active cases at present in the state is from the returnees from different parts of India.

It said the University will face tremendous challenge if it opts to bring the outstation students into the State as it has to look into the various matters in regard to their quarantine, health and security, logistic, etc.

Expressing concern about the welfare of the students who are to appear for their final semester examination, the KSU said out of 787 students from various fields and departments, 200 are from Meghalaya, 300 Assam, 100 Nagaland, 60 Mizoram, 50 Manipur, 25 Arunachal Pradesh, 20 West Bengal, 10 Tripura and Bihar, 5 Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh, 1 Odisha and 1 Nepal.

In view of this, the Union has made a number of propositions for the university to examine. It has suggested the university to make arrangements with other universities for conducting the examination where the outstation students resides and in the date of of such examinations, students of Meghalaya will appear in NEHU Campus Shillong itself and the other students in such other Universities in their own state arranged by NEHU and their examination papers to be parcel back to NEHU for scrutiny.

With regards to evaluation, the KSU suggested that university may also conduct the examination via assignments given to the students and evaluate and scrutinize based on the assignments submitted by the students.

On the other hand, it said as done in the State of Maharashtra where the Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray cancelled all the examination based on the rising COVID – 19 cases and students are provided aggregate marks based on their performance in the previous and past semesters.

“With the welfare of the intermediate students (lower semesters) studying in the University, the Union would suggest that examinations may be delayed till suitable period of time or the above propositions which the Union has proposed for the final year students may be applied,” the letter stated.