In the wake of mounting concerns over the administration of North-Eastern Hill University (NEHU), Prof Saroj Kanta Barik, the university’s senior-most professor, assumed charge as Acting Vice-Chancellor on Friday.
Sources said Prof Barik, from the Department of Botany, stepped in due to the urgency and gravity of the situation prevailing at the university. The Ministry of Education has been informed of the development and is expected to issue appropriate directions.
Prof Barik’s assumption of charge followed a formal request from several statutory bodies and unions of NEHU, including the North-Eastern Hill University Teachers’ Association, the North-Eastern Hill University Non-Teaching Staff Association, the North-Eastern Hill University Students’ Union, the Khasi Students’ Union (NEHU Unit), and the Meghalaya Tribal Teachers’ Association (NEHU, Shillong).
These bodies stated that the decision was taken in accordance with Statute 2(A)5(i) of the NEHU Act, which allows the senior-most professor to discharge the duties of the Vice-Chancellor in the larger interest of the university until the incumbent Vice-Chancellor formally assumes office under Statute 2(A)(2).
Expressing serious concern over the present state of affairs at NEHU, the associations and unions pointed out that the regular Vice-Chancellor, Prof Prabha Shankar Shukla, has remained absent from duty. His current whereabouts and status remain unclear, as he has not been present at the NEHU headquarters in Shillong for the past 399 days.
They further noted that since the afternoon of December 15, 2025, there has been no Acting Vice-Chancellor at the Shillong headquarters. The situation was aggravated by the recent resignation of the Pro Vice-Chancellor of the Shillong campus, leaving no mechanism for a formal transfer of charge.
According to the stakeholders, Prof Barik’s assumption of office as Acting Vice-Chancellor was essential to ensure administrative continuity and to protect the academic and institutional interests of North-Eastern Hill University.
