The teachers associations claimed that the strife between the state government and Raj Bhavan is hampering the functioning of the universities (representative image)
The message from the governor, who is the chancellor of all state universities, has antagonized the Trinamool Congress government, with Education Minister Bratya Basu claiming that the order has no legal validity
Leading university teachers’ organizations in West Bengal claimed on Sunday that Governor CV Ananda Bose’s recent letter asking the vice chancellors to submit him weekly reports on the functioning of the varsities will not help address the real issues with which they are confronted.
The message from the governor, who is the chancellor of all state universities, has antagonized the Trinamool Congress government, with Education Minister Bratya Basu claiming that the order has no legal validity.
The teachers associations claimed that the strife between the state government and Raj Bhavan is hampering the functioning of the universities, and that it would be difficult for the chancellor to understand the situation as the statutes of the varsities were not revised.
The letter, sent on April 4 by a co-secretary official of the Governor’s Secretariat, said: “The weekly activity report will be submitted by email on the last business day of the week and any decision that has financial implications may be submitted in advance. ” approval of the Honorable Chancellor”.
Goutam Maity, member of the executive committee of the Bengal University Teacher’s Association (ABUTA), said that the “tendency” of the state government and Raj Bhavan to put all powers in their hands will hamper the academic functioning of the universities and that ” political intervention” from any party was not desirable. side.
The directive to send out the weekly report and regular updates on important financial matters will only curtail the power of the VCs, he claimed.
“We don’t want any intervention from both sides that only threatens the autonomy of an academic institution. This has implications for society and creates a stalemate in the functioning of higher education institutions,” said Maity.
Jadavpur University Teachers’ Association (JUTA) Secretary-General Partha Pratim Roy told PTI: “We have nothing against the VCs having regular contact with the Governor, who is the chancellor of state universities, but we are quite confused whether it weekly activity report will basically serve any real purpose.” None of the universities have the chancellor’s nominee, while the statutes have not been revised, he wondered, “How can he (Bose) come to a clear understanding about the functioning of universities?” He claimed that JUTA sent four letters to the chancellor to draw his attention to academic and administrative problems faced by the universities including JU, but received no response from Raj Bhavan.
Education Minister Bratya Basu said on April 7 that without confiding in the state higher education department, the governor’s message has “no legal validity”.
The letter had been drafted by the governor without confiding in the government, and he had no idea about the letter before being told about it by VCs at some universities, Basu had claimed.
The developments come against the backdrop of the state government reversing its earlier decision to make the chief minister the chancellor of state universities during Jagdeep Dhankhar’s tenure when the state had objected to his alleged interference in the autonomy of state universities through his various “unilateral actions, including calling meetings with VCs and going against government-recommended names as the new Vice-Chancellor.
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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and was published from a syndicated news agency feed)
