NEHUTA demands removal of VC for anti-tribal activities

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaAugust 18, 2024

The North Eastern Hill University Teachers’ Association (NEHUTA) has demanded the immediate removal of the incumbent vice chancellor of the university Prof PS Shukhla for anti-tribal activities.

In a letter to the Member, National Commission for Scheduled Tribes Nirupam Chakma, NEHUTA president Prof Lakhon Kma said, “Accordingly, we have decided to write to you being a responsible member of the National Commission for Scheduled tribes (NCST) so that the VC can be reprimanded for exploiting and harassing tribals and practicing and propagating anti-tribal attitude and we demand that he should be removed from the office immediately.”

“The impact of such nefarious and ulterior design of Prof. P.S Shukla is noted with great concern and alarm by informed tribal public of Meghalaya which comprises of 86.15% of the total population and other tribals of NE region. In most of the instances of discrimination against tribals as mentioned above, the VC has blatantly and repeatedly violated the Right to Equality as guaranteed under Article 14, 15 and 16 of our Constitution for the last three years. He is also the greatest violator of all well-established procedures and practices in the university and NEHU Act, Statutes, Ordinances and Regulations and UGC Regulation 2018 since joining NEHU as the Vice chancellor in 2021. He has totally lost any academic and moral direction to lead the University. Therefore, his continuance in office shall only mark steep fall and decline in NEHU’s professed objectives and we would like to request you to take necessary steps for his immediate removal from the office of the Vice Chancellor in the larger interest of NEHU and the tribals of Meghalaya and the North-Eastern region,” he added.

Prof Kma said Due to his lack of ability as a VC, his frequent absence from the office of any pretext, lack of concern for the NEHU and blatant display of favouritism and nepotism, Prof P. S. Shukla is taking NEHU to the drains. 

Stating that the University ranking is sliding at a fast pace, he said, “When he (Prof Shukla) joined as VC NEHU in July 2021, the ranking of NEHU as per National  Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) Ministry of Education, Government of India, was 59; it slides to 66 in 2022; 80 in 2023 and the worst ever slide of 56 positions i.e. 136 in 2024. 

“It only speaks volume of his inefficiency of taking along the tribals of Meghalaya to improve the overall performance of the University.”

The NEHUTA chief also alleged that Prof. Shukla has constantly denied desirable local tribals of Meghalaya the opportunities that they truly deserve to contribute in the upliftment of the University by importing unscrupulous people from outside the State only to bring down the ranking and prestige of NEHU to a worst ever position. 

“It is worth mentioning that NITI Aayog data of July 2023 where Meghalaya is ranked as the poorest state of India in the NE region and reported that 32.54% of the population with multidimensional poverty as per National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) and the VC is adding to the poverty by not giving employment opportunity to deserving local tribals of Meghalaya,” he said.

“In our opinion, NEHU have seen the worst kind of VC in Prof. P. S. Shukla in decades who is illogical, arrogant and insensitive to tribals and ready to violate all well-established procedures and NEHU Act, Statutes, Ordinances and Regulations so openly to suit his ego. However, we as an Association and the University fraternity, particularly the tribal locals, have to do everything possible to put an end to it,” Prof Kma said while adding “In view of his functioning in a unilateral and dictatorial manner by misusing his power as the VC and to save NEHU and its statutory bodies from blatant violations and degradation in the academic interest of the University, its affiliated colleges, students and the University fraternity as a whole, we have demanded his resignation. We are fighting against all his wrong doings and also to protect the legitimate right of the tribals which this VC has tried to trample for the last three years.”

” If we allow him to continue, it will set a dangerous precedence, emboldening the VC to violate all statutory provisions on different matters concerning our wellbeing as university fraternity, particularly the tribal teachers, non-teaching staff and students,” he added further. 

Prof Kma said that since joining as the VC of NEHU, P.S Shukla have failed to bring any new projects or schemes for the upliftment of the tribal communities of NEHU and Meghalaya in general for the last three years. No new hostels, quarters, etc. has been build and existing ones are in serious dilapidated condition which is creating huge problems for tribal students and staff alike. 

The letter further alleged that the incumbent Vice-Chancellor of NEHU Prof. P.S Shukla made a stark departure from the objective of socio-economic, educational and cultural development of Meghalaya and North-Eastern India by discriminating against candidates from local tribal community and the region as such in filling up posts of non-teaching positions like Deputy Registrar, Registrar, and Finance Officer. 

“He has attempted to completely change the harmonious tribal, ethnic and other Indian character of NEHU into a monolith of Hindi Hindu Brahminical University. At least his action speaks more than words, it’s loud and clear,” it said.

“First of all, he appointed an ex-Army retired Colonel-Shri Omkar Singh in the post of Controller of Examinations by keeping out qualified, academically experienced and intellectually sound candidates of tribal and ethnic origins from the state of Meghalaya. He imported a candidate without much credentials in the field of running academic administration and a complex thing like conduct of Office of Controller of Examinations. This person retired from a school and obviously, without any experience of working in any college or University. In spite of having well-qualified tribal candidates, who have taught in university and colleges for decades, he still appointed Omkar Singh which smacks of favouritism and nepotism,” it added.

The letter also stated that “Due to his serious lack of understanding on the functioning of university system, the declaration of results was getting delayed at every level putting the careers of thousands of tribal students at stake. Once the Controller office started functioning at less-than-optimal level, the VC removed Shri Omkar Singh from the post of Controller only to offer him a yet more important and serious position like the post of Registrar for which the same Omkar Singh was chosen by Prof. P.S Shukla. Here again Prof. P.S Shukla ignored qualified and rooted local candidate in order to select the same Omkar Singh. The whole world got to see how Shri Omkar Singh created a total mayhem and stampede situation during the CUET Undergraduate examination in NEHU on 15th May, 2024, who appointed himself as the Supervisor of the CUET centre in NEHU, Shillong.”

“All these point to a vile design operated from NEHU administrative block to destroy whatever is left in NEHU by a mix of ignorance and arrogance. Total lack of accountability and inefficiency is again seen of the regime of Prof. P.S Shukla, when in the crucial last days before examination, there was a major electricity breakdown for more than 35 hours,” it added.