The Manipur University appears to be in a state of complete chaos moving without any direction in every front.

The examination section, which acts as mirror of the university, reflects the university in much poorer light - nobody knows who conducts the examinations, when the results will come out, sub-standard questions, monopoly in question setting, paper evaluation, etc. It is free for all!

The research programme is nearly on the verge of complete collapse! University has taken the public for a ride with seemingly new regulations and guid-elines for research; the so called regulation has not been approved by the academic council, not to talk of the executive council.

The University is perhaps on a mission of scaling new heights in the art of manipulations and manipulative techniques!

We strongly demand that the university must go deeper into this matter and bring out how the new regulations was publicized as if it were passed and endorsed by the concerned councils or bodies. We would bring out, yet again, another manipulation at the highest level, which would have far reaching consequences than the eyes can meet.

When the new Vice Chancellor assumed the office, among the priorities set out, the opening of new departments like biotechnology, physical edu-cations, nanotechnology, etc. were on the top. We have received the same with great deal of enthusiasm.

An integrated course in Biotechnology would have started from the 2006 academic session.

However, on our persistent enquiry, it was found that university had not initiated any worthwhile step towards opening of the biotechnology department like getting the mandatory approval, acceptance, funding, etc. from the concerned authority except the clandestine appointment of the Director against all established norms of the university bypassing all the statutory bodies of the university, and diversion of huge amount of fund from the School of Sciences.

The manner in which the Director has been appointed has been questioned by the Dean, which the VC with his mighty lieutenant played it down.

If the present VC and his trusted man have any iota of concern for the biotech, how could the VC entrust the responsibility of setting up the biotech department to a person who has been found unfit to be the Director of the Biodiversity Institute (IBSD) on many occasions and who could not even complete a mere term of two years as Head of the Life Sciences Department consequent upon the recruitment made during this man’s tenure?

May we question the wisdom of the VC in entrusting the directorship of an important department to an unqualified man of highly doubtful integrity? This would only lead to giving the biotech department a still birth!

Let’s not encourage people who have been rejected elsewhere for responsible position and convert this temple of learning into a rehabilitation camp for such persons.

It has been found that a huge sum to the extend of more than Rs 100 lakhs had been diverted from the fund meant for the existing sciences department to the yet to be born biotech department. The major departments like physics, chemistry, life sciences, etc have never been allocated this much amount.

Now that the Centre has allocated good amount of fund for strengthening of the laboratory of the existing sciences department, instead of allocating the due share to the respective departments, a major chunk of the fund has been diverted to the biotech?

This very cruel decision of the university will cripple not only the biotech but all the existing sciences departments! Even though biotech has its own relevance, it by no means is a new area and every metropolis city has innumerable biotech institutes like Pan-Dukans with ever decreasing number of buyers.

The question of missing the bus, therefore, doesn’t arise. It is but true that unless we have something different to offer, ours also would end up like a badly managed Pan-Dukan. Let the biotech department be developed after proper acceptance and concurrence from the Ministry with the fund of its own. Let’s not create more Lawaaris departments in the campus as was created in the past.

Please stop diverting fund from the existing departments.

Instead, pump more money to the VC’s first love Physics and Life Sciences, Biochemistry, Chemistry, etc. so that the departments can boast of some modern equipment in their departments. Biotech can wait, yes, it can wait.

Because, in absence of a well qualified and dynamic director of clear vision with a team of most eligible and dedicated faculty, we will end up producing graduates of much lesser quality with no buyers around and all the love’s labour will be lost, in vain!

Let’s not allow this to happen. Why is the University so adamant of the biotech while giving a lukewarm attention to opening of departments like physical education, Manipuri dance, etc.?

Is it because the university has infatuation for biotech or be simply blackmailed? We would draw the kind attention of the university in giving more life to the slogging departments like Manipuri dance, journalism, South East Asian studies.

Let’s not create more departments simply in the name of expansion without proper concurrence and save the biotechnology department from giving a still birth for the sake of our posterity. The university must clarify under what circumstances the director has been appointed. Let the bad history be not repeated!

We strongly demand that no fund be diverted from the School of Sciences to the biotechnology. The VC and the Dean concerned should make it known how much fund has been allocated to the School of Sciences for equipment and how it is distributed among the existing science departments.

We also demand that before setting up of a new department, the detail plans and proposal, fund allocation. etc be transparently discussed at the appropriate forum/bodies of the university to avoid hasty retreat. The public owe an explanation from the university.