President of the Tenyimi Students’ Union Dimapur, Sotilo Seb (Centre) alongwith the union’s other executive members on April 26. (Morung Photo)
TSUD raises concerns over faculty terminations at IUN
Morung Express News
Dimapur | April 26
The International University, Nagaland, formerly known as the Global Open University, is in the news, again. The university’s management has reportedly told its teaching faculty to look for other job avenues leaving its students in the lurch.
The Tenyimi Students’ Union Dimapur (TSUD) made the disclosure at a press conference, on April 26, citing information it received from the International University Nagaland Students’ Forum. TSUD President, Sotilo Seb, told the press conference that it recently received a letter from the university’s students’ forum requesting the union’s intervention and addressing alleged disruption of academic classes. In the letter dated April 21, the students’ forum alleged that the classes were disrupted because of a pen down strike by the teaching faculty in protest against the university management’s decision to terminate their services.
Seb said that following the receipt of the letter, the TSUD visited the university to corroborate the complaint. According him, they met the Vice Chancellor (VC), who told them that the grievance the students raised were resolved already.
However, he said that in a subsequent meeting, the university students’ forum reiterated their allegation. The TSUD then met the university’s employees’ association during which they were told that the university management had taken a unilateral decision to terminate their services. The decision to terminate their services was allegedly on account of financial difficulties the university was facing.
A few of the teachers were said to have been handed out termination letters, while others were told to look for other job avenues.
The alleged pen down strike followed soon after.
It was further claimed that the university has a history of erratic salary disbursal. On April 1, the employees’ association wrote a representation to the Minister of Higher Education but said that they were yet to get a response from the Minister.
According to the TSUD, the teaching faculty’s version was contrary to the claims of the VC. “The university is compromising the life and career of its students. We cannot compromise especially when it comes to the career of students,” Seb said.
He informed that the TSUD will soon write to the state Minister of Higher Education seeking his intervention on the matter.
On the International University’s alleged RSS links, Seb declined to comment. He maintained that the TSUD only want to focus on the academic aspect of the issue.
