NEHU pro-VC Umdor resigns amid campus unrest; teachers’ body says 'he did nothing'

The North-Eastern Hill University’s (NEHU) pro vice-chancellor, S Umdor, has resigned amid prolonged unrest on the campus, NEHU Teachers’ Association (NEHUTA) said and dismissed claims of several achievements during his tenure.

In his resignation letter, Umdor said the absence of essential support systems and continued uncertainty over key institutional decisions made it untenable to continue in office in the best interests of the university.

The resignation comes after a joint statement by NEHU students, faculty, and non-faculty members demanding Umdor’s resignation, alleging governance failures, delays in statutory decisions and his inability to function independently in the absence of vice-chancellor PS Shukla.

The resignation demand gained momentum amid repeated protests over administrative paralysis and delayed decision-making. NEHU VC Shukla has also remained away from the Shillong campus for over a year after protests erupted over alleged mismanagement and irregularities.

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To bring stability, Umdor was entrusted with the responsibility for day-to-day academic and administrative functioning. Officials said that despite the turbulent atmosphere, the academic calendar was maintained, with end-of-semester undergraduate and postgraduate examinations conducted on time.

The turmoil also led to the resignation of the registrar, the finance officer and senior faculty members, who had been holding additional administrative charges.

NEHUTA also alleged that Umdor had “done nothing to address the financial cuts” faced by NEHU with the ministry, which has crippled the day-to-day functioning of the institute.

"Prof Umdor along with Prof. Shukla are largely responsible for the haphazard and hasty implementation of NEP 2020 at the UG level; if not for the timely interventions and valuable contributions of the faculty members, it would have been more disastrous,” the NEHUTA said.