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Monday, March 26, 2012

SU picketed in protest against non-teaching staff recruitments, interview postponed


AFFECTED LANDOWNERS JOINED BY 4 ORGANISATIONS TO DEMAND PREFERENCE FOR LOCALS AND TRANSPARENT RECRUITMENT PROCESS


SAGAR CHHETRI
GANGTOK, 23 March: Affected landowners of the Sikkim University campus slated to come up in Yangang in South Sikkim and a clutch of youth organizations, protesting what they see as an unfair recruitment process underway at the University, launched a two-pronged challenge against the University with simultaneous protests at the SU Management Block down at 6th Mile on NH 31A and at the University’s guest house, Visitor’s Residence, at Development Area. The two groups were intent on protesting what they see as the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Mahendra P Lama’s sidelining of local interest in the recruitment process, and dispersed only after they received confirmation that the interviews of Junior Assistants [LDC] called for today had been postponed. The protestors are demanding the scrapping of the entire recruitment process undertaken by the University to fill 45 posts of non-teaching staff on permanent basis.
At Development Area, the crowd of protestors left after they were given a copy of a Sikkim University notice issued by the Registrar stating: “Due to Unavoidable Circumstances, the interview for the post of Junior Executive [LDC] stands postponed.”
The gherao at the two locations was undertaken by members from Sikkim University Development Committee of Yangyang [made up of affected landowners], Sikkim Sachet Swarojgar Berojgar Sangathan, Ravangla Aastha Organisation, Sikkim Yuwa Samaj and Tumin Youth Association who were joined by youth from in and around Gangtok and other parts of the State.
The protestors were also accompanied by some of the prospective candidates who complained that they received intimation of the interview only a few days back when they should have been allowed at least two weeks advance notice to prepare and make arrangements to attend the interview.
The protestors started gathering at the two locations at around 9 a.m. this morning. Strong police presence at both places ensured that no untoward incident transpired although there was extensive heckling, sloganeering and shouting from the protestors who were waving banners and placards denouncing the VC.
As the number of picketeers at the Management Block swelled, they poured out on to the highway from their earlier perch along the footpath and held up traffic for nearly two hours between 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Their immediate demand was a cancellation of the interviews for the post of Junior Assistants and they remain insistent that affected landowners have been left out from the recruitment process, which, they contend, was carried out shoddily and in complete disregard to prescribed norms.
At the SU Visitor’s Residence, the protestors had made it to the lobby inside when they first arrived. Soon, however, on the intervention of the Sikkim Police led by SP [East], Dr MS Tuli, the protestors were convinced to take their protest outside where they carried on their slogans. There was surge when at one time word spread that the interview process had begun inside. There was adequate police presence at the spot to keep the crowd back and soon communication arrived that the interview had been called off.
Speaking to media persons, SUDC president, CL Gurung, complained that the vacancies had not been advertised widely enough and argued that while the VC had assured jobs for affected families, nothing had materialized thus far. He added that 41 applications from members of affected families and 200 from local educated unemployed youth from in and around Yangyang had been submitted to the VC back in 2009 itself, but not a single of these had led to placement in the Unversity.
Mr Gurung argued that the interview notice of vacancies in SU should be published in all local newspapers and not just on the SU website so that enough people learned of the opportunities. He argued that locals should be given preference and threatened to launch a much larger protest against the VC if the recruitment process was not made more transparent.
Upon seeing the restive mood of the protestors, the District Collector [East], D Anandan and the SP [East] intervened in the matter and mediated for CL Gurung accompanied by two more protestors to meet the Registrar and discuss their demands. The trio emerged with SU notice announcing the postponement of the interview and the gherao was lifted for the day.
Speaking to NOW!, Mr Gurung informed that the Registrar, while postponing today’s interview, also assured them that dates for all future interviews will be published in all local newspapers.
The protestors then proceeded to call on the Chief Secretary and express their reservations on the manner in which the VC was conducting the recruitment process. They returned from the meeting with the CS that he would earnestly take up their demand that no further interviews be held until the entire process was made transparent.
“On the basis of the Chief Secretary’s assurance, we have halted our protest for today but if the interviews continue we will launch our programme on a much wider scale,” members of the five organizations which participated in today’s protest said.
In this regard, it is learnt the HRDD Secretary, CS Rao, has written to the VC, sharing that “in case of non-teaching recruitment, the people are agitated to the extent that they have started disrupting normal public life by way of blocking the national highway”.
“In order to tackle the situation tactfully, it is requested that all the ongoing interviews for non-teaching staff to be kept in abeyance till the situation returns to normalcy,” the Secretary writes to the VC in a letter dated today.
The SSSBS president, Karma Gyurmie Bhutia, addressing a press conference this evening, alleged that the entire recruitment process at SU was extremely suspect and so poorly managed that these could have been rigged to favour a select few.
In this regard, he pointed out a section of Assistant Professors who had first exposed the extensive procedural lapses in the recruitment process have now been expelled from the University after they were harassed with withholding of their salaries and show-cause notices. He demanded that his organization was also demanding justice for teachers at the University who have stood up against the VC and have been victimised.

As for the land acquisition process, those representing the affected landowners informed today that they have already vacated their lands handed it over for the University. They alleged that the VC has not been in correspondence with the concerned authorities to take over the land. This, they contend is being done because operating from rented buildings was proving more profitable.

13 comments:

  1. what's the secy hrdd doing writting lettrs now!!! the secy is one of the executive council members of the univ and i have heard that they never attend the meetings...if they did so then the state would be able to protest right at the initial stages and put an end to it all.....but no Sir, they don't even bother !! and finally the Sikkimese has woken up.....hopefully its not a politically staged act!!!

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  2. i am not aware about the inner working about this university. but one thing i know is that they talk big. however the little i have read from the SU authorities is not commensurate with their grandiose vision.
    let me relate two examples.
    one is their VC's address in their website. you will find it publicised loudly on their home page.
    the occasion is some librarian's seminar. the VC's address written in horrendous English is long-winded, jargon-heavy and completely lacking in depth. the first paragraph itself has this 'beauty'."For us this is a great occasion filled with so much of intellectual and technological inputs and ideas."
    the second example is from the press release that was put out in some sites following this recruitment fiasco. this one too has lines like.."The protesters who were in a violent mood also did gherao the main management block of the University at 6th Mile."
    such literary offerings from the Univ goes to show that far from being a centre of excellence it lacks even the basic apparatus to provide a quality PR exercise when it is under siege from all sides. this is when the character of an institute its intellectual mettle, its integrity is shown. sadly SU seems to have failed on most counts...

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  3. This seems a better example!!! You should go through some of the matter written by some of the Asst. Profs with Ph.Ds. u'll wonder where are we all headed....to a world class University or .....!!!!!

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  4. and what about the great professor's english. I have heard him, it is strewn with words and references picked up from various 'trending' locales.

    He used cooperation-s, often.

    It made me giggle, so much for our jewel from the hills.

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  5. Heard that three of the lady teachers who were on duty were also man handled!! sorry state of affairs....but I assume that the three asst professors were obviously non Sikkimese...otherwise the agitated crowd would surely have been pacified seeing people who look like them!!! ....and yes giggle away -what else can the Sikkimese do but nit pik and giggle!! every thing seems like one untasty broth at SU.

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  6. I so agree with the giggle comment.....i laid hands on the profile of SU in Delhi and the booklet is nothing but a compilation of the latest jargon and big words floating around!!!

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  7. I think the whole issue has been badly handled by the VC of Sikkim University. It is hardly becoming of a scholar- that he claims to be- to be so egoistic. The VC is unnecessarily dragging the people of Sikkim into the ongoing tug of war between the state government and the university. There is no harm in keeping aside the posts of non teaching staff for the locals. He will earn a lot of goodwill of the people...something he could do with at the moment.

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  8. Forget the good will....he has been badly exposed!! For hiring faculty members , his constant excuse used to be ' hamro mah manchey chhaina, we dont have people with PH.ds, SU will help over come that", even if one were to be hoodwinked by such claims, what abut the posts in Mgmt....these require nothing but a post graduate degree for some and in some simple graduation.....and u have plenty of them in Sikkim....and that too children of sikkimese origin!! so what stopped him from doing do!! what was the need to hire people as far as from Delhi and other states, thse guys will alwyas be on the look out for better opportunities and they will leave sooner or later...like one asst registrar i believe has already gone....so it should be a lesson for the learned VC and an eye opner....that it is better to stick with the Sikkimese boys and girls who are in plenty!!!

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  9. as MPL would not say, I suppose, we seek your cooperations!

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  10. I remember a brochure that this University had taken out. You may still find it gathering dust somewhere.
    It showed a picture of a bunch of village kids. Underneath was a caption "We will make a Phd out of each one of them".
    That was when I gave up all hopes for this so called Centre of Excellence.

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  11. Why can't SU turn into a centre of excellence by trying to turn every child into a Ph.D...what's the harm in trying , just coz the pix showed tattered clothes and 'litlitey singan' doesn't mean they will not be able to be one .....and u may by now know that poverty level in Sikkim has gone down as shown by articles and letters written on the issue.....so u may just have the kids getting their Ph.Ds from places other than SU!!!!

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  12. PhD is a degree. There is a difference between a degree and an education.

    And the idea that only a degree can educate is notion that, that particular brochure promotes, so it should be attacked.

    Else these neo-liberals who have taken over higher education will win.

    And those little kids may not even be able to support themselves in SU. Follow the students efforts to highlight the crazy high fees for a University with zilch infrastructure.

    Centre of Excellence, my A%$#, MPL is the only excellent one, crawling his way to the top, by eating and feeding into everything he lands on. He is a worm by this analogy.

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    Replies
    1. Dont deride the lil children....let them dream and who ever wants to along with the brochure!!! and of course u have the CM's various schemes to help the not so privileged....so lets not be too harsh and think that just coz they are pictured as they are they cannot achieve!!! and of course to make anything a centre of excellence ...it can't be done singly...it obviously is a team effort .....and that doesnt seem to be happening at SU and yes......as u say MPL does have the knack to take advantage of the situation ....where ever and whatever he is in and make the most out of it....even if its for himself and the teesta paris!!!!

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