Tribal students shut down varsity

Pothashang News Service: Imphal, May 3, 2018: Students spearheaded by Indira Gandhi National Tribal University Students’ Union – Regional Campus, Manipur today broke through the gate of the varsity to launch indefinite total shut down strike demonstrating inside the campus at Makhan village of Kangpokpi district.

The students demanded to provide 99 per cent of reservation in recruitment from the post of grade –IV to the highest rank, vice-chancellor, director and head of departments preferably from tribal community. They also demanded to give admission preference to tribal students.

The main objective of the tribal university is to provide higher education and research facilities and to promote tribal communities. It is very unfortunate that these provisions have not been fulfilled even after more than a decade, said the president of the students union Hoakhomang Chongloi.

The university has been functioning since 2009 as per the University Act of 2007, but unfortunately there is lack of permanent teaching faculties in every existing department, particularly there is no even a single permanent faculties in both Tribal studies and Sociology department but only guest faculty which is a real discrimination against the student community and tribal people in general. We want immediate recruitment of permanent faculty members without any further delay with proper reservation policy, said Hoakhomang.

The students also complain for high admission and course fees.

They also demanded to increase admission intake from the existing system of 30 seats in each department to 100 students.

They demanded to immediately arrangement of rooms for faculty members, guest faculties and research scholars. E-library with computers another main grievance for the students, so it is our prayer that necessary arrangement is made before the current academic session starts, said the student leader.

We will not allow the entrance test that is scheduled to conduct on the coming Saturday and Sunday, he added.

The university’s regional campus in Manipur has only five disciplines. We demand for opening of departments of humanities disciplines.

Introduction of UGC-NET/JRF coaching centre at the campus; immediate functioning of IGNOU study centre for MA courses; separate budget and swift action for the students’ welfare were among the demands.

The vice-chancellor is supposed to visit the regional campus every three months but no such visit is noticed since last year, complain the students.

Placing these demands the student body submitted a memorandum on April 23 to the vice-chancellor, Prof. T. V. Kattimani, to respond for intervention by April 30, failure of which would force take up agitation.

“We have submitted our demands several times. We take up shut down strike as the authority has not responded. We will continue to shut the university until our demands are fulfilled” said Hoakhomang.