New NEHU Acting VC Takes Charge with Focus on Restoring Academic Excellence
Prof. Saroj Kanta Barik, a senior professor from the Department of Botany at North-Eastern Hill University (NEHU), has assumed charge as the acting Vice-Chancellor of the central university. The appointment, approved by the President of India in her capacity as Visitor of the institution, takes effect following the completion of the previous Vice-Chancellor’s tenure on 26 July 2026. Barik will hold the position until a regular Vice-Chancellor is selected and joins office.
The transition marks a significant moment for NEHU, one of the oldest and most important central universities in the Northeast. Established in 1973, the university was created to serve the educational needs of the hill regions of the Northeast, with its main campus in Shillong and a second campus in Tura. Over the decades it has produced generations of graduates, researchers and professionals who have contributed to the region’s development. In recent years, however, the institution has faced a prolonged period of administrative disruption, declining national rankings, and growing stakeholder concern about its academic direction.
Prof. Prabha Shankar Shukla’s tenure, which began in July 2021, became increasingly contentious. From November 2024 onwards he remained largely absent from the Shillong campus, operating for extended periods from Guwahati or other locations amid sustained protests by students, teachers and non-teaching staff. Allegations of administrative lapses, governance issues and a deteriorating campus environment led to repeated calls for intervention by the Ministry of Education. Associations representing teachers, students and staff repeatedly highlighted the absence of effective on-campus leadership and the resulting delays in academic and administrative processes.
The impact on the university’s standing has been measurable. In the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF), NEHU once ranked among the top universities in the country, securing positions as high as 15th in earlier years and remaining within the top 50–60 range in the late 2010s. By 2021 it stood at 59th among universities. Subsequent years saw a steady slide: 66th in 2022, 80th in 2023, and then into the 101–150 and later 151–200 bands. By 2025 the university had dropped further in the university category and fallen out of the overall top 200 list. Stakeholders have attributed the decline to weakened research output, interruptions in the academic calendar, faculty and staff morale issues, and a drop in institutional perception.
Against this backdrop, the appointment of Prof. Barik as acting Vice-Chancellor has been widely viewed as a step toward restoring stability. A distinguished botanist and ecologist specialising in plant ecology, biodiversity conservation and bioprospection, Barik has spent nearly three decades at NEHU. He joined the university as a lecturer in 1997, rose to professor, and earlier served as Head of the Department of Botany. He has also held major national leadership roles, including Director of the CSIR-National Botanical Research Institute in Lucknow and additional responsibilities at other CSIR institutions. He is a Fellow of the Indian National Science Academy, the Indian Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Sciences, India, and the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences. His research record includes extensive publications, patents, and contributions to conservation and ecological restoration in the Eastern Himalayan region.
Barik is not new to temporary leadership responsibilities at NEHU. In December 2025, following the resignation of a Pro-Vice-Chancellor and continued absence of the regular Vice-Chancellor, university associations requested him to step in under the relevant statutes to ensure basic administrative continuity at the Shillong headquarters. His willingness to accept that responsibility at a difficult time earned him recognition among sections of the campus community as someone prepared to prioritise institutional functioning over personal convenience.
The formal appointment as acting Vice-Chancellor now places him in a position to address several urgent priorities. These include normalising the academic calendar, ensuring timely examinations and results, facilitating faculty promotions and recruitment processes that have faced delays, strengthening research support systems, and rebuilding confidence among students and staff. Infrastructure maintenance, student welfare services, and smoother coordination between the Shillong and Tura campuses are also expected to receive attention. Many within the university community hope that an academic of Barik’s stature will shift the institutional focus firmly back toward teaching quality, research productivity and scholarly culture.
The Ministry of Education has already initiated the process for appointing a regular Vice-Chancellor. An advertisement inviting applications was issued in May 2026, with the application window closing in mid-June. The post requires a distinguished academician with at least ten years of experience as a professor, demonstrated leadership, high integrity and institutional commitment. The search-cum-selection committee process has faced delays, particularly in the appointment of its chairman, but the interim arrangement under Barik is intended to prevent a leadership vacuum while that process continues.
Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma had earlier urged Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan to expedite the appointment of a new Vice-Chancellor, emphasising the need for strong academic and administrative leadership capable of steering the university through its challenges. Similar appeals came from teachers’ and non-teaching staff associations, which had long sought an end to the prolonged uncertainty.
For the wider Northeast, the health of NEHU carries symbolic and practical importance. As one of the region’s premier central universities, its performance influences opportunities for local students, the quality of research on regional issues such as biodiversity, climate, culture and development, and the overall perception of higher education in the hill states. A sustained recovery in academic standards, research output and institutional reputation would benefit not only the current student body but also future generations and the regional knowledge ecosystem.
Prof. Barik steps into the role at a moment when expectations are high and the challenges are substantial. The university community, alumni, state authorities and the Ministry of Education will be watching closely to see whether the interim leadership can deliver the stability, transparency and academic focus that stakeholders have repeatedly demanded. Restoring NEHU’s academic excellence will require more than administrative continuity; it will demand consistent attention to teaching, research, governance and campus climate. The coming months will indicate how effectively the new leadership navigates these priorities while the search for a regular Vice-Chancellor proceeds.
The transition offers NEHU an opportunity to move beyond a difficult chapter and reaffirm its founding purpose of serving as a centre of higher learning and research for the Northeast. Whether that opportunity is fully realised will depend on the actions taken in the weeks and months ahead.
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