Polytechnic students set to boycott final exam
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, October 16 2025: The Students' Union of Government Polytechnic, Imphal has threatened to boycott their final examination which is set to begin from November 18 if the shortage of teaching and non-teaching staff, including guest lecturers, is not plugged by October 24.Speaking to media persons at Manipur Press Club, Majorkhul today, Thingom Arun, general secretary of the Union, said that the institute is facing a decline due to prolonged neglect of infrastructure needs and staff shortage.

Currently there is no teaching faculty for Mathematics, Physics and Humanities at Government Polytechnic.

Highlighting the faculty shortage, he said that the institute only has 21 teachers against the required 60, who are handling the four engineering and one pharmacy department of the institute.

Some of them are also set to retire soon.

Additionally, only 18% of the sanctioned post of Grade III and IV staff are managing the administrative workload of the institute, he said.

The Polytechnic also suffered damages during the 2016 earthquake which has allegedly remained unrepaired by the concerned authority till date.

As a result, the building infrastructure continues to deteriorate making it inconvenient to conduct regular classes, said Thingom Arun.

Presenting a timeline of their prolonged demand, he said that the Union sought an audience with Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla on August 1 but received no response.

On August 28, the students launched a peaceful protest putting forward their demands related to shortage of teaching and non-teaching staff and academic infrastructure.

As their demands went unmet, the Union locked the campus from September 9 to 15.On September 15, police personnel attempted to break up the students' protest which resulted in an altercation between the two parties.

Six students were taken into custody while several others sustained injuries.

The next day, on the invitation of the Governor, representatives of the Union met and apprised him of their grievances and received assurance for prompt action.

Again, on September 19, a meeting was held with the Governor, Chief Secretary, Commissioner of Higher & Technical Education with the participation of the Controller of Technical Education, Principal of Government Polytechnic and other officers concerned.

During the meeting, the Governor gave instructions to the Chief Secretary and the concerned officers to immediately address the Polytechnic's issues.

Speaking in this connection, Okram Yaiphabi Devi, member of the Union, said that despite the Governor's instruction, the process of recruiting guest lecturers has come to a standstill as the concerned file is reportedly stuck at the Department of Planning.

Meanwhile, Manipur University has notified that the final examination will be conducted from November 18.Questioning how students can appear in the examination when no classes have been taken, especially for mathematics, physics and humanities, she has urged the Governor to appoint the guest lecturers by October 24, failing which the examination will be boycotted.

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