JUTA urges VC to address loss of ‘Institute of Eminence’ tag for Jadavpur University

KOLKATA: The Jadavpur University Teachers Association (JUTA) on Saturday expressed concern over a recent report that claimed that the varsity lost its ‘Institute of Eminence’ (IoE) tag and shot off a letter to officiating vice-chancellor Bhaskar Gupta, urging him to take up the issue with the University Grants Commission (UGC).

A report on March 12, quoting a reply by Union MoS Education Sukanta Majumdar in Parliament, said the Empowered Experts Committee (EEC) of the Centre rejected JU’s revised proposal due to a decrease in its projected budget, from Rs 3,299 crore to Rs 606 crore. The EEC asked the UGC to remove JU from the IoE list.

In the letter to Gupta, JUTA said, "Some reports claim the decision was prompted by the inability of the West Bengal government to pay the required amount to JU, while others suggest the university was omitted from the list in 2023."

"We cannot comprehend why any problem between the two governments will deprive Jadavpur University of its status of preeminence. You might remember that with great difficulty JU had to pay Rs 1 crore as a fee to the UGC for making the appeal, which is the processing fee, and the amount was raised with the help of alumni, teachers, and other well-wishers of the university," JUTA, the representative body of professors, said.

"However, according to procedure, if any higher educational institute is omitted from the list, UGC has to return 75 per cent of the application fee to the institute concerned. That comes to Rs 75 lakh. We have learnt UGC is yet to pay back this amount to JU," JUTA secretary Partha Pratim Roy told PTI. "We urge the VC to look into the issue and take appropriate steps," he said.

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Jadavpur University budget cut

BJP Rajya Sabha MP Samik Bhattacharya, who raised the issue, alleged, "While the Centre was willing to cough up an amount, up to Rs 1,000 crore, the state government refused to commit its share and slashed JU’s budget to Rs 606 crore."

"This forced the university to mop up an additional 25 per cent of the funds on its own, which was impossible," he added. JU has been witnessing campus protests after state Education Minister Bratya Basu was heckled and his car stopped on campus during a protest.

As he was leaving, the demonstrators alleged the minister’s vehicle injured two students, triggering arson and a fresh wave of vandalism by a section of protestors demanding early holding of the union elections.