In a significant move to address ongoing administrative turmoil, the Union Ministry of Education has dispatched a high-level team to North-Eastern Hill University (NEHU), Shillong, to conduct an urgent review of its operations. Additional Secretary Sunil Kumar Barnwal and Director Subrat Kumar Pradhan from the Department of Higher Education will lead the review, according to a letter from Under Secretary D.K. Himanshu. Coordination has been made with Meghalaya Chief Secretary D.P. Wahlang and DGP Idashisha Nongrang for necessary security and protocol arrangements.
The review comes as NEHU grapples with prolonged internal disputes and operational paralysis that have raised serious concerns at the central level. Amid the crisis, NEHU’s Academic Council met on May 21 for the first time in six months. Chaired by Vice Chancellor in-charge Prof. Sherwin May Sungoh, the meeting ran from 10:30 a.m. to 6:50 p.m. and was attended by around 130 members. Key academic matters such as PhD results, revised syllabi for final semester undergraduate courses, and examination protocols were approved.
NEHUTA president Lakhon Kma described the meeting as productive and highlighted the council’s collective recognition of Prof. Sungoh’s authority, despite earlier warnings by Prof. Prabha Shankar Shukla against holding the session.