The post at the North East Regional Institute of Science and Technology has been lying vacant since 2014.Students protest at NERIST, Arunachal Pradesh. Credit: Special arrangementNew Delhi: Students of the premier North East Regional Institute of Science and Technology (NERIST) in Arunachal Pradesh are on an “indefinite strike” due to the failure of the Ministry of Human Resource Development to appoint a full-time director at the deemed university.The post has been lying vacant since 2014.On January 24, the Students’ Union of NERIST (SUN) served a month’s notice to the ministry, which funds and runs the 34-year-old science and technology-oriented higher education institute, to fill the post.Though the time frame given to the ministry expired on February 24, local media reports said SUN – which represents 1,800 students enrolled in different faculties of the institution – was requested by the NERIST Faculty Association, the employee association and the alumni association to avoid the strike as the ministry was learnt to have appointed a new full-time director “from Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University in New Delhi”.Since no official order followed, SUN began the strike on February 27. Reports said a large number of students have been assembling since that day near the gate of NERIST campus, situated in Nirjuli, about 19 kms from state capital Itanagar. They are said to have prevented teaching and non-teaching staff from carrying out their duties.“We had given an ultimatum of one month on 24 January and in the meantime written letters to several people, including the state governor who is the president of the NERIST Society and education secretaries of all the eight Northeast states, but there has been no response from the authorities concerned. We shall sit-in on this peaceful protest till we hear from the MHRD or till our demands are met,” SUN president Banta Natung told the Arunachal Times.The “ultimatum” was given in a memorandum to the Union HRD minister Prakash Javadekar after a protest rally was taken out by the students along with AAPSU from the campus into the Nirjuli town, situated in Papum Pare district of the state.Some amount of the students’ anger has also been directed at the Union minister of state for home and MP from the state, Kiren Rijiju. In October last year, Rijiju, while speaking at the institute, “promised” to help appoint a full-time director within a month’s time. However, he failed to keep his word.Students protest at NERIST, Arunachal Pradesh. Credit: Special arrangementThe present director, Tamo Mibang, is also the full-time director of the Rajiv Gandhi University (RGU) and has “limited authority” over its functioning as it temporary head. The students’ union of RGU has also come out in support of the ongoing strike.Reacting to the student’s ire on February 28, Rijiju responded on Twitter, calling the strike “unfortunate”.“I have been trying my best since the last two years to get a regular director. I have again conveyed this grave situation to the Secretary, HRD ministry,” he tweeted.A while later, he announced that he had spoken to “Prakash Javdekar ji and informed him about the grave situation.”“I did my best to follow up with the HRD Ministry but blaming me for non appointment of a regular director is not proper,” he added.I spoke to HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar ji & informed him about the grave situation. I did my best to follow up with @HRDMinistry but blaming me for non-appointment of a regular Director is not proper. https://t.co/ahs8wpOXlN— Kiren Rijiju (@KirenRijiju) February 28, 2018The protesting students have also created a Twitter hashtag #saveNERIST to put across their demand to the HRD minister.Local reports said NERIST registrar had “written to the MHRD Joint Secretary regarding the protest beforehand” to which the JS replied through an email, stating, “The file for appointment is under consideration of the government”.State chief minister Pema Khandu, who is in New Delhi to attend the BJP chief ministers’ meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 28, hasn’t responded to the issue yet.