SHILLONG, Dec 16: The Khasi Students Union (KSU) recently sought intervention of Meghalaya Health Minister Ampareen Lyngdoh into the complaint against allotment of centres outside Meghalaya for indigenous candidates appearing for the direct recruitment for Group B & C posts in the North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health & Medical Sciences (NEIGRIHMS) here.
“We seek your immediate intervention with the direct recruitment for Group B & C in NEIGRIHMS where it was reported that local candidates from the state were allotted examination centres in far-flung areas outside the state of Meghalaya,” KSU general secretary Donald V Thabah said in a letter to Lyngdoh.
He informed that the KSU also made an attempt to meet the health minister but she was out of station adding that, they were able to talk to her on the phone.
Thabah said Lyngdoh has assured the KSU that she along with chief minister Conrad K Sangma will take up this matter tomorrow in New Delhi.
“(She also assured that they) will try to meet officials of the Union Health Ministry to sort out this problem and to request that all local candidates should be allotted centres within the state,” he said while quoting the minister.
Thabah said that the KSU will also take up the issue with the chief minister for his immediate intervention.
Meanwhile, the KSU has also written to the Director of NEIGRIHMS Dr Nalin Mehta for immediate resolving the problem faced by indigenous candidates.
”The Union thinks that all the anomalies with regards to preference of centres should be sorted out immediately and that local candidates should be allotted centres within the state of Meghalaya,” it said in the letter to Mehta.
The letter reminded that Mehta had verbally informed the Union during their last meeting that a certain agency with the nomenclature HLL was tasked with conducting the examinations for the aforementioned recruitment. Furthermore, the Union leaders were informed that four locations were selected as examination centres viz, Shillong, Guwahati, Jorhat & Delhi.
The HLL agency was selected based on its competency and fulfilment of the required criteria to conduct the examinations.
”However, to our dismay, we were informed by aggrieved candidates that another centre, Dibrugarh was allotted to numerous local candidates for the examinations to be held on the 17 & 18 of December. It also came into our notice that the candidates were allowed to select a centre of their choice from three options, Shillong, Guwahati & New Delhi,” the KSU wrote.
“Most of the local candidates opted for Shillong as first preference and Guwahati as the second one, but to their disappointment, they were allotted either Jorhat or Dibrugarh as centres. This inaccuracy on the part of the agency exhibits its inefficiency and negligence in conducting such specialized examinations,” the letter said while adding that the errors by the HLL agency have put the prospects of many local candidates in shambles.
The KSU also reminded that most citizens of the state come from economically weaker sections of the society, and this will be a hurdle in their aspirations as it involves huge expenditures in terms of transport and lodgings.
”The KSU, thus, strongly urged that this issue should be resolved at the earliest taking into account the urgency of the matter,” it said.
Meanwhile, the KSU also reminded the Director of his commitment to survey the different computer centres located in Shillong for conducting CBT system examinations. (NNN)
