GUWAHATI : Disgruntlement with the heads of institutions has put a Central university in Manipur and a Central postgraduate medical institute in Meghalaya in a limbo.
On Monday, Manipur University (MU) announced postponement of this year’s postgraduate examinations after an indefinite shutdown by students demanding the removal of Vice-Chancellor Adya Prasad Pandey.
The day also saw Meghalaya Health Minister Alexander L. Hek writing to Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda, seeking his intervention in ending a week-long strike by resident doctors unhappy with D.M. Thappa, Director of North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences (NEIGRIHMS).
The institute on the outskirts of Meghalaya capital Shillong is on the lines of All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi and Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh.
MU authorities said the postgraduate examinations had to be cancelled because the students’ stir has affected all departments and centres at the university’s campus near state capital Imphal.
The Manipur University Students’ Union had on May 30 imposed the shutdown demanding Mr. Pandey’s removal over 15 allegations of financial and administrative irregularities, including staying away from the university for long durations.
The Manipur University Teachers’ Association (MUTA) too has been demanding the VC’s resignation in the “academic interest” of the university.
“We adopted three resolutions in our meeting today (Monday), and they included Mr. Pandey’s resignation and constitution of a high-level committee to probe allegations of financial and administrative irregularities against him,” MUTA general secretary L. Shanjukumar Singh said.
Mr. Pandey refuted the allegations, saying the university improved during his tenure from a series of academic and administrative crisis it was put into. “I am here to serve, not to resign,” he added.
The Meghalaya health minister outlined a similar complaint against Dr. Thappa, the NEIGHRIMS director, in his letter to Mr. Nadda. “Resident doctors of NEIGRIHMS have been on strike for the last one week and this has affected the smooth functioning of the hospital and the patients,” he wrote.
Mr. Hek also pointed out that the NEIGRIHMS director has been away from the institute for the last 10 days “despite being aware of the situation”.
One of the allegations by the doctors of NEIGRIHMS against the director is a bid to “sabotage the doctorate of medicine cardiology course and examination for personal reasons”, affecting “our mental status”, which in turn affected academics, research and patient care.
Dr. Thappa could not be contacted.
