All Nagaland College Students’ Union (ANCSU) on Friday afternoon called off its phase-III agitation after the Nagaland chief secretary Pankaj Kumar assured through a letter that the state government would initiate action within a week towards addressing the three issues raised by the union.
As part of its agitation, ANCSU locked the main gate of the directorate of technical education Nagaland with hundreds of students standing there from morning till the agitation was called off.
The protest banner read “ANCSU phase-III agitation on loopholes and irregularities in the technical education department – vacate the office till our demand is delivered”.
Addressing the agitating students, ANCSU fact finding committee chairman O.Wati Jamir said such irregularities and loopholes in the technical education would leave the students future at stake. He asserted that the state government should do something immediately to discourage and check corruption in the state.
ANCSU leader also said the present working system of technical education was not clear and it was high time to clean up the system. He cautioned the state government that unless the demand is fulfill there would be massive agitation in the following days.
Also, speaking to the students, NSF assistant general secretary Kesosul Christopher Ltu said the federation extended its fullest support to the ANCSU demand.
NSF leader said the department cannot play with the career of students, saying the department has failed to fulfil the demands in spite of repeated representations. He said unless the state government cleaned up the mess the same mistake would be committed in the future also.
ANCSU president Zhoku Thuluo and former president ANCSU Vilhousilie also addressed the gathering.
It may be mentioned that on February 19 ANCSU served ultimatum to state government demanding punitive action against the erring officials of technical education department as per the findings of the State Vigilance Commission report, to initiate process for amalgamation of DTE with Higher Education Department without delay and to allow only the indigenous tribes of Nagaland to appear the technical and allied courses for state reserved quota.
Earlier, not satisfied with the government response to its demands, ANCSU announced to go ahead with democratic protest until the demands fulfilled in toto. ANCSU said its fight was against “colossal corruption and irregularities” in the functioning of technical education.