Recruitment controversy erupts at MU
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, April 29 2024: Large groups of students led by Kangleipak Students' Association (KSA) on one hand and students of Manipuri Department, Manipur University on the other, staged protests in front of MU A Block gate today about 11.30 am .

The protests were staged in connection with the controversy surrounding the recruitment of Assistant Professors in the Manipuri Department of the University.

The protesting students from Manipuri Department wielded placards and banners with slogans such as "We denounce acts of intimidation on teachers", "Stop interfering in matters of the education sector", "Student bodies should stop working for the benefit of certain individuals", "Student groups should not get involved in nepotism or favouritism" and "Stop extending the service of guest lecturers whose tenures have expired" .

Recruitment controversy erupts at MU

Speaking by the sideline of the protest, Philem Baleshore, a student from the Manipuri Department, claimed that a few days ago some people had visited the Department and threatened the HoD.

Instead of issuing an apology, they reportedly released a statement making baseless allegations against the teachers of the Department, he said.

Stating that the controversy of Assistant Professor recruitment should be solved through dialogue between the students and the present Assistant Professors, he claimed that instead of this, certain individuals had been favoured while insinuating the involvement of nepotism.

Urging the concerned group to stop threatening and intimidating teachers of the Manipuri Department, Baleshore further called for an end to extending the employment period of guest faculty, citing it as a major cause behind the MU recruitment controversy.

As the protest was ongoing, another group of students led by Kangleipak Students' Association consisting of students from various colleges under MU, made their way towards MU A Block gate protesting against certain modifications in the recruitment notification of Assistant Professors for Linguistic and Old Manipuri Literature of the department.

The police tried to intercept the protestors at MU Main Gate without success.

The students armed with festoons and shouting slogans moved towards MU A Block gate and staged a sit-in protest in front of the gate.

Speaking in this connection, KSA president Sukham Bidyananda said that in February this year, a notification was issued and the process to recruit two Assistant Professors with specialization in Linguistic and Old Manipuri Literature was initiated.

The KSA president accused the new HoD of the Manipuri Department of changing the requirement for specialization and modifying it to "open category" in a follow-up notification.

According to Bidyananda, this was done to indulge in nepotism and recruit people without the necessary eligibility criteria.

Asserting that KSA is attempting to change such wrongdoings in MU to bring a transformation in the education sector, the KSA president sought the people's support in their efforts.