NIRJULI, 5 Jun: The Students’ Union of NERIST (SUN) has sought urgent intervention of the Union Ministry of Education to safeguard the integrity of the North Eastern Regional Institute of Science and Technology (NERIST), and urged the ministry to not accept the resignation of NERIST director Prof Narendranath S.
In a representation addressed to the union education minister on Wednesday, the SUN said, “On 29th May, 2026, certain external student organisations, along with a few internal groups, staged a gherao of the director, Prof Narendranath S, demanding the revocation of suspension orders issued to two officials in compliance with the Ministry of Education’s communication. Under immense pressure and duress, Prof Narendranath has reportedly tendered his resignation to the Ministry of Education, Government of India. This development is deeply concerning as it reflects undue interference by outside organisations in the functioning of the institute, seemingly driven by vested interests. Such actions undermine the academic environment and administrative integrity of NERIST.”
Earlier, on 31 May, the union had submitted a request to the union education secretary, urging him to not accept Prof Narendranath’s resignation.
The union strongly condemned the disruptive interference by external organisations, and went on to question the role of the chairman of the NERIST board of management in forwarding the resignation without conducting due inquiry into the prevailing circumstances.
“It warrants serious scrutiny, as it undermines established norms of procedural propriety,” the SUN added.
The union further placed a three-point demand,failing which, it said, it would launch a hunger strike starting 5 June.
Its demands include release of the CCTV footage pertaining to the director’s chamber on 29 May during the occurrence of the incident which subsequently resulted in the resignation of the director; sending the footage to the ministry, police, and media fraternity; and strict legal action by the state government against those involved in the director’s forcible resignation.
