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Former Vice-Chancellors and academicians at a press convention on the Kolkata Press Membership on the problem of appointment of interim Vice-Chancellors of a number of State Universities.
| Picture Credit score: The Hindu
At the same time as the brand new tutorial session begins, the West Bengal authorities and Raj Bhavan are at loggerheads over the appointment of Vice-Chancellors (VCs). At a time when universities are grappling with provisions of the brand new Nationwide Training Coverage which mandates four-year undergraduate diploma programs, not one of the 31 State-run Universities in West Bengal has a full-time Vice-Chancellor. Over the previous few months, Governor C.V. Ananda Bose has appointed greater than a dozen folks to officiate as VCs of state-run universities allegedly with out holding any session with the State authorities. When Raj Bhavan introduced the names of officiating VCs, the West Bengal authorities initially tried to discourage lecturers from taking over the posts. Later a public curiosity litigation was filed earlier than the Calcutta Excessive Court docket difficult these appointments. On June 28, the Excessive Court docket dismissed the petition describing it as a ‘software’ to problem the orders of the Governor. The courtroom, nonetheless, identified that the appointments have been solely an interim association.
The West Bengal authorities and the Governor’s workplace has not had the very best of relationships, however issues took a flip for the more severe in 2022 when Jagdeep Dhankhar was Governor. The State authorities appointed 24 Vice-Chancellors, reportedly with out consulting the Governor, whose validity was challenged by a writ petition. The courtroom dominated that UGC Rules of 2018, which states {that a} UGC nominee needs to be within the search committee for collection of VCs, will prevail.
After Governor Bose assumed workplace, he initially agreed to the Bengal authorities’s proposal of accepting the resignation of the VCs, and appointing them as interim VCs this March. In Could, when the three-month time period got here to an finish, the State authorities despatched a proposal to the Governor with an inventory of 27 names to be appointed as interim VCs for a interval of six months. The Governor picked solely two names from the record, and appointed a number of officiating VCs with out consulting the State authorities.
On August 4, The West Bengal College Legal guidelines (Modification) Invoice, 2023 was handed within the State Meeting to adjust to the courtroom’s order by reconstituting the search-cum-selection committee for the appointment of VCs. Together with having a UGC nominee, the brand new committee has 5 members, three of them nominated by the State authorities, thus giving the federal government an higher hand in appointment of VCs.
Additionally learn |No illegality in appointment of V-Cs by Bengal Governor, says Calcutta Excessive Court docket
In 2022, the State Meeting had handed quite a lot of Payments changing the Governor with the Chief Minister as Chancellor of the Universities within the State to ease bottlenecks in VC appointments. The Payments haven’t been cleared by Raj Bhavan. After the passage of the August 4 laws, a gaggle of BJP MLAs met the Governor urging him to not give his assent to this laws as effectively.
If the Governor and the State authorities proceed to have totally different views on appointment of VCs, it may possibly trigger irreparable harm to larger training within the State.
Lack of infrastructure
Whereas the variety of each State-run and personal universities have elevated previously 12 years of Trinamool Congress rule, most of those universities lack infrastructure. With many college students and school opting to go away the State, larger training in West Bengal has develop into a shadow of its superb previous.
Within the Nationwide Institute Rating Framework (NIFR) rankings for 2023, just one college from the State, Jadavpur College, figured among the many prime 10 universities at quantity 4. The College of Calcutta which had figured among the many prime 10 universities in NIFR 2022, slipped 4 positions, and is ranked twelfth in NIFR 2023. No different college from West Bengal figured among the many prime 50 universities within the nation.
Lecturers and directors, who’ve been assigned the accountability of interim VCs, can not take any coverage determination nor can they allocate any assets. The established order is prone to weigh closely on the way forward for over 5 lakh college students who’re getting admitted to those establishments throughout the State for the 2023-24 tutorial periods.
Previously, Raj Bhavan has mentioned that “training should be handled as a no-conflict zone”, a view echoed by State Training Minister Bratya Basu. Each Raj Bhavan and the State authorities must stroll the speak, and resolve the deadlock within the curiosity of scholars.
shivsahay.s@thehindu.co.in
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