NEHU Staff Locks Up VC's Office

Shillong, Oct 4 : Agitated over the vice chancellor's "illegal continuation" even after his term expired, teaching and non-teaching staff of the North Eastern Hill University (NEHU) today sealed his office.

In a statement, the Joint Action Committee of the NEHU employees condemned the attempt of the university to deliberately "misinform the public on the matter of illegal continuation of Pramod Tandon" as Vice Chancellor after the expiry of his term on September 12.

The JAC has locked up Tandon''s office and declared him as "persona non grata" accusing him of taking illegal and irregular financial decisions even after the expiry of his term.

Alleging that President Pratibha Devi Singh Patil has not communicated anything on the extension of term of the vice chancellor, JAC chairman S B Prasad said the university was banking on a communique from the lower rung of the ministry while extending Tandon''s term.

"The university is engaging itself in the indefensible act of justifying the unstatutory continuation of Pramod Tandon. The JAC has derecognised the incumbent Vice-Chancellor for this unstatutory continuation," Prasad said.

Tandon's term ended on September 12 but was he was asked to continue in the post till the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development would find a replacement.

The ministry had conveyed to NEHU registrar L Roy on September 9 that the university should follow its statute and allow the present vice-chancellor to continue in office till a successor was appointed.