Campus monitoring, cyber safety discussed at West Bengal Governor's meet with vice chancellors

Kolkata: Campus security, tribal student welfare, and higher education reforms took centre-stage at the vice chancellors' conference chaired by West Bengal Governor and Chancellor C V Ananda Bose at Raj Bhavan, an official said on Wednesday. Several measures were proposed for fast-track implementation across universities in West Bengal, he said. One of the key decisions taken in the meeting held on Tuesday at the Raj Bhavan here was the introduction of AI-powered surveillance systems, including facial recognition technology, to monitor and record the movement of individuals on university campuses, he said.

"The move is aimed at strengthening campus security and addressing incidents of ragging," he said, adding that the implementation of these measures would be reviewed periodically to ensure accountability and results. The meeting also discussed the establishment of one school for the Scheduled Tribes in every university to assist and support tribal students academically and socially.

In another welfare-oriented initiative, universities have been asked to introduce dedicated helpline numbers for migrant workers, with coordination mechanisms involving universities in other states to provide reciprocal support. "The decisions were part of a larger push to modernise and streamline university functioning in line with national education reforms and growing social needs," the official said.

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Tackling drug addiction, digitisation

Among the other key proposals agreed upon for implementation were improving accreditation and assessment systems in both universities and affiliated colleges, he said. Other proposals were launching a state-wide awareness campaign against youth drug addiction , conducting a comprehensive audit of manpower, including sanctioned, filled, and vacant posts, the bureaucrat said. It also recommended promoting digital transactions across university departments and administration, encouraging natural farming practices among women, especially in the three state agricultural universities, he stated.

Besides, reviewing the rollout of the New Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and creating awareness about the three new criminal laws introduced by the Centre were also suggested at the meeting. "Ensuring a transparent appointment process for university faculty and staffers and developing green campuses, promoting energy efficiency, and exploring the use of non-conventional energy sources were also stressed upon," he said. The conference was attended by vice chancellors from several universities.