Meghalaya: NEHU Leadership Questioned As Education Panel Investigates Mounting Allegations

SHILLONG: A Ministry of Education-appointed two-member inquiry team has stepped up its investigation into purported administrative shortcomings at North Eastern Hill University (NEHU), Shillong, after consulting with concerned stakeholders.

The highly influential committee, which included former vice-chancellor of Assam University Prof. Dilip Chandra Nath and former chairman of the University Grants Commission Prof. D P Singh, spent hours listening to complaints from staff, faculty, and students.

Student bodies submitted extensive data outlining the alleged administrative malpractice committed by Vice Chancellor Prof. Prabha Shankar Shukla during the last three years, according to NEHUSU President Sandy Sohtun.

Highlighting the student organisations' joint position, Sohtun said, "We've made it unequivocally clear that Prof. Shukla's return to the university is non-negotiable."

Similar views were expressed by Prof. Lakhon Kma, head of the North Eastern Hill University Teachers' Association (NEHUTA), who provided what he called "comprehensive evidence" of persistent institutional decline under the current leadership.

The mandate of the investigative committee encompasses important topics such as controversial nominating processes, sharp drops in institution rankings, infrastructure neglect, and purported administrative inaction.

The Khasi Students' Union and non-teaching staff associations are among the many campus groups that have banded together to call for extensive administrative reforms and a change in leadership.

It is anticipated that the committee's conclusions will have a big impact on NEHU's institutional integrity and future governance.

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