‘Chowkidar-cum-Gatekeeper’: Why Visva-Bharati’s biotech head won’t enforce order for monthly workload reports

Visva-Bharati Santiniketan’s head of the department of biotechnology, Tathagata Choudhuri, has said he will not enforce the university’s new monthly workload reporting system for teachers in his department. In a letter to the registrar, Choudhuri, who also leads the central university’s faculty association, has questioned its legal basis and said it amounts to unnecessary monitoring of faculty members and reduces him to a “chowkidar cum gatekeeper”.

Choudhuri has also warned that the teachers’ association and other faculty members could challenge the order in court if the university does not withdraw it. “As the president of the teachers’ association, I don’t want to be a party to this administrative decision that will possibly be challenged in court,” he has said.

His objection comes after the university issued a notification on August 7 asking every faculty member to submit a “Monthly Workload Report”. The notification cited the UGC Guidelines, 2018, and said the measure was needed because some teachers were allegedly not being punctual and some were taking leave without informing or obtaining approval from the competent authority. The Visva Bharati University Faculty Association (VBUFA) described the order – and another introducing biometric attendance for all staff – as “Tughlaki”.

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Visva Bharati not following UGC guidelines

Choudhuri has questioned the policy of bringing all teachers into the system when only some face allegations. He said that if individual teachers had been found guilty of misconduct, action should be taken against them. Instead, the notification makes “baseless allegation[s] and generalisation about the conduct and integrity of faculty members”, says his letter to the registrar, Bikash Mukhopadhyay. It is also copied to other department heads and Visva Bharati officials.

According to Choudhuri, the 2018 UGC guidelines cited in the notification do not require teachers to maintain documentary proof of their day-to-day workload or require heads of departments to submit such records in the manner prescribed by the university.

“I also find no provision in the relevant MoE [ministry of education] documents or in the Visva-Bharati Act and Statutes that supports the introduction of such a draconian and arbitrary Monthly Workload Report to be maintained by the head of the department,” he said.

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Role of Visva Bharati department heads

Choudhuri has also raised concerns about the role given to heads of departments under the new system.

“The proposed system gives heads of department discretion to record positive as well as adverse remarks concerning individual faculty members, without any clear provision for communicating such remarks to the concerned teacher. The maintenance or forwarding of uncommunicated adverse entries or remarks behind the back of the faculty members is contrary to the principles of natural justice.”

He further alleged that in some departments, teachers were being pressured to fill up the workload form, although he said the order does not require faculty members to submit the completed form to their HoDs.

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Visva Bharati HODs will be ‘posted at the gate’

Choudhuri has questioned whether HoDs can realistically be expected to monitor the arrival and departure of every faculty member and keep track of their academic and administrative work. Monitoring the comings and goings of his colleagues in the department makes him a “chowkidar cum gatekeeper” he says in his letter.

He also said monitoring mentoring, administrative work and other responsibilities in this manner would amount to surveillance and could leave HODs with less time for teaching, research and guiding others researchers.

“To implement this order, I would need to leave the office of the Head and be posted at the gate of the department during the entire office hours to note down the arrival and departure of each faculty member,” he said.

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Legal challenge

Choudhuri said that if the order is not withdrawn, the teachers’ association, along with other faculty members, could move court against it. He also said HoDs who implement the order could be made parties to the case along with the university administration.

“If such a peculiar order is not withdrawn, the teachers’ association, along with other faculty members, will surely move to court challenging it, and the heads of departments or centres who are obeying this order will also be made parties to the case along with the central administration.”