Guwahati: The Hynniewtrep Youth Council (HYC) has raised concerns about a possible violation of the state’s reservation policy in a recruitment advertisement issued by NEIGRIHMS on January 22.
The HYC has also criticized the lack of local representation in the advertisement. On Monday, the council gave NEIGRIHMS a seven-day deadline to issue a corrigendum, threatening to protest if the matter is unresolved.
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Since NEIGRIHMS Director Prof. Nalin Mehta was unavailable, HYC members met with the institute’s deputy director and other officials. In a letter to the NEIGRIHMS director, HYC President Roy Kupar Synrem highlighted that the advertisement violates the Scheduled Tribe (ST) reservation policy.
Out of 107 Nursing Officer vacancies, the authorities have allocated only two to ST candidates, even though the policy mandates a minimum of 7.5%, which requires at least eight seats. This discrepancy highlights a serious shortfall in representation.
Synrem warned that if NEIGRIHMS does not address its concerns within the deadline, the HYC will organize a public protest to confront what they see as a deliberate attempt to disregard their rightful demands.
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He also pointed out that the recruitment process failed to follow the required 80:20 female-to-male ratio, leading to an overrepresentation of male candidates from outside the state.
During the previous recruitment process, the committee noticed that most of the appointed nurses were male. According to Synrem, this imbalance affected both the administration and the patients seeking care at the institute.
He further stated that local candidates are struggling to find employment while candidates from outside the state are filling vacancies.
Synrem accuses NEIGRIHMS of deliberately denying local youths and job seekers opportunities. He raises concerns about the selection of male nurses from Rajasthan, claiming that they consistently choose them across all categories, except for the ST category, despite their poor clinical performance.
Synrem claimed that both staff and patients have repeatedly complained about the subpar performance of these nurses, but authorities have not addressed these concerns. He argued that the large number of out-of-state healthcare workers has caused communication gaps between staff and patients, compromising patient care and safety.
Additionally, Synrem warned that recruiting too many male nurses could create an unsafe environment for female staff and patients, raising serious concerns about women’s safety at the institute.
Addressing the issue of recruitment delays, Synrem pointed out that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, no recruitment occurred for two years. As a result, he urged the institute to grant age relaxation to candidates who lost eligibility during this period.
He also stated the need for recruitment exams to be held in Meghalaya to ensure fairness and transparency. Moreover, Synrem called for a thorough review of the recruitment agency to prevent any bias or unfair practices.
Synrem demanded that NEIGRIHMS revise the vacancy list to ensure 7.5% reservation for ST candidates, as required by law, and strictly adhere to the 80:20 female-to-male ratio used by other institutions like AIIMS. He also reiterated his call for age relaxation due to the pandemic-related delays in recruitment.