Mizoram varsity students strike continues for 6th day

Aizawl Sep 11 (IANS) The indefinite strike by students of Mizoram University to demand the appointment of a regular Vice Chancellor continued for the sixth day on Monday.

The Mizoram University Student Council which is spearheading the agitation burnt an effigy of Union Human Resource Development Minister Prakash Javadekar.

"The university has been without a regular Vice Chancellor for almost two years and repeated appeal to Javadekar and HRD Ministry officials has borne no fruit yet " an MZUSC statement said.

Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla had last week urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to appoint the Vice Chancellor at the earliest to the lone varsity established in the mountainous state in 2000.

"Since September 6 the varsity students have been agitating and preventing teaching and non-teaching staff from entering the campus over their demand a varsity official said.

He said 68 posts of Professors Associate Professors and Assistant Professors are also lying vacant.

An official in the Chief Minister s Secretariat said Lal Thanhawla had already written to the HRD Minister for beginning the process of the V-C s selection afresh.

R. Lalthantluanga a Professor of the Shillong-based North Eastern Hill University was the last Vice Chancellor of Mizoram University.

Over 50 per cent of the teaching staff and 16 per cent of the students at the varsity come from various parts of the country.

--IANS
sc/tsb/bg