Tussle between Bengal Guv, edu dept harming interests of higher education sector: Left-leaning teachers’ bodies

 The JUTA and the WBCUTA denounced the bill as a “black act drafted in an arbitrary manner aimed at snatching the autonomy of the state universities”.

PTI, Kolkata, Aug 5, 2023 :  Expressing concern over a “tussle” between Raj Bhavan and the West Bengal Higher Education Department over the control of state universities and appointment of vice-chancellors, two prominent Left-leaning teachers’ bodies on Saturday said the situation was affecting the interests of higher education.

The Jadavpur University Teachers’ Association (JUTA) and the West Bengal College and University Teachers Association (WBCUTA), in separate comments, also slammed the state government for keeping out representatives of universities from search committees to appoint vice-chancellors.

The state government on Friday passed the West Bengal University Laws (Amendment) Bill 2023, increasing the number of members in search committees to appoint VCs from three to five. The panel will have Governor C V Ananda Bose by virtue of being the chancellors of state varsities, representatives of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, the University Grants Commission, the state education department and the state higher education council.

The JUTA and the WBCUTA denounced the bill as a “black act drafted in an arbitrary manner aimed at snatching the autonomy of the state universities”.

JUTA general secretary Partha Pratim Roy told PTI, “Apparently, Bikash Bhavan (state Higher Education Department headquarters) and Raj Bhavan are engaged in a frontal war over total control of state universities. This is clear in the way VCs of 14 universities were appointed by the governor in June and the higher education minister refused to acknowledge the appointments.” “Now, we have learnt that the officiating VCs of three universities – Jadavpur University’s Amitabha Dutta, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad University of Technology’s Indranil Mukherjee and North Bengal University’s Sanchari Mukherjee – have been asked to step down immediately by the governor who had himself handpicked them. This points to the sorry state of affairs in the higher education sector,” he said.

Coming down heavily on the West Bengal government, he claimed that placing more than one representative from the state administration in the VC search committees proves the state’s intent to “politically control the entire process by keeping out representatives of universities”.

“It seems the state has no faith in teachers, students, researchers and non-teaching staff, although no search panel can function without the presence of the university representatives,” he said.

He alleged that neither the Raj Bhavan nor Bikash Bhavan seemed to have any concern for improving infrastructure and filling up vacancies in teacher’s posts, but were “hell-bent on turning the education sector into a battlefield”.

WBCUTA president Subhoday Dasgupta described the bill as a “black act drafted in an arbitrary manner and aimed at snatching the autonomy of the state universities”.

“There are CM’s representatives in the search committees but not one from the universities. This lay bare the true intent of the education department,” he said.

He alleged that the state’s attempt to establish political hegemony of the ruling party and take away the autonomy of the universities began with the enactment of the West Bengal Universities and Colleges (Administration and Regulation) Act, 2017.

Dasgupta added in the same note: “Steps taken by the governor to appoint interim VCs was also very alarming.” “In Rabindra Bharati University, the governor appointed a retired judge, who has no links with the education sector, as the interim VC. In Jadavpur University, he asked the interim VC to step down. His actions are also equally alarming and raise concern over what is going to happen to universities,” Dasgupta added.

TMC-leaning WBCUPA’s president Krishna Kali Basu said the body expects the governor not to “act in a duplicitous manner” and not oppose the bill as it will pave the way for having permanent VCs in the state universities.

Expressing reservations over the governor appointing interim VCs without consulting the state higher education department, she alleged, “He is not following any guideline. He has appointed a retired judge and a former IPS officer as interim VCs. We don’t know what prompted him to do so.” The state government had in May this year brought an ordinance to increase the number of members in the search committees.

Before the promulgation of the ordinance, the search committees for the appointment of VCs comprised nominees of the university concerned, the chancellor and a representative of the higher education department.