Our Correspondent
Kohima, Oct. 12 (EMN): The All Nagaland College Students’ Union (ANCSU), in its first phase of digital protest on Monday, dispatched at least fifty thousand emails to top state government functionaries, including the chief minister’s office and the chief secretary.
The union had called for an indefinite digital protest against the state government following the latter’s inaction in setting up an enquiry commission to probe into the fund utilisation at Khelhoshe Polytechnic Atoizu (KPA) under AICTE-NEQIP scheme.
Addressing a press conference in Kohima, the president of ANCSU, Vimeyiekho Vitso, informed that on Tuesday, the union would intensify its mode of protest. It plans to send at least two lakh messages to the email accounts of government functionaries.
If the government still fails to meet their demands, the union would be sending at least one million messages to these email accounts on the third day, he said.
‘And in between, should the government still be silent, we will intensify our protest beyond digital mode,’ Vitso added.
He assured that their mode of agitation will be “very peaceful” as the union does not wish to disturb the society in any way because of the pandemic.
But, he hinted that they could take the agitation beyond digital mode, including visiting the departments concerned.
Besides emails, the student body is also using other social media platforms to show their resentment. ANCSU has 39 units and all these units were directed to send at least 1000 messages each to the email accounts of top government officials, he informed.
Vitso said that the union is protesting not only against the fund utilisation at KPA. As mentioned in its letter to the chief secretary on August 31, they are also demanding the state government to take cognisance of similar schemes implemented in other institutes as well.
From 2014 to 2017, the KPA had received INR 3,71,60,000 under AICTE-NEQIP (North East Quality Improvement and Programme) scheme. However, the union while inspecting the institute, ‘found out that the work materialised at KPA is unsatisfactory’.
According to the union, the institute claims to have utilised INR 3.71 crore to “upgrade and purchase the infrastructure for the students”.
‘But, as per the claim, it seems like everything that is available there in the institute now have been purchased and upgraded from the NEQIP programme. So our question is, before this programme came in 2014, how was the institute granting diploma certificates to students?’ the president asked.
As per RTI reply, the institute claimed to have utilised INR 32 lakh in academic support for the SC and ST students. In which, payments of INR 1500 and INR 1800 per day were made to the lecturers who were giving extra classes to the ‘weak students’.
As for the resource persons, the institute paid INR 7500 per day. The institute also claimed to have paid the principal INR 30000 per day for extra classes. The amounts were paid according to the practical and theory classes, it stated.
In another reply, the institute had utilised around INR 38 lakh for faculty and staff development activities. Under this, they went on tour to various factories and industries for the ‘enhancement of academic minds’.
‘Spending INR 38 lakh for faculties and staff, and another INR 32 lakh just for taking classes is totally uncalled for,’ said the president.
The union claimed to have gone through over 1622 copies of information furnished by the institute. According to the union, some documents were not genuine.
In the information furnished, the institute claimed to have upgraded the labs and workshop through NEQIP programme, but the students there said that those equipment existed before the NEQIP programme.
‘We are not technical experts and cannot draw any conclusions. Therefore, we are asking for an enquiry commission. We are not blaming any authority, any individual for this mismanagement. Only an enquiry commission to look into the matter,’ he added.
The institute has received the third instalment of the scheme, which is INR 3.71 crore. The full amount is INR 4.16 crore, he added.
General Secretary of ANCSU, Imnameren N Jamir said that the institute claimed to have bought 1055 books amounting to INR 9 lakh for library through NEQIP scheme but there are just 198 books in the library.