West Bengal Governor talks to students after facing protests at Jadavpur University convocation

KOLKATA: West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose faced protests by Left students of Jadavpur University, of which he is the chancellor, on Saturday when he went to attend the convocation but he pacified the agitators by speaking to them.

As Bose's car went near the convocation venue, SFI and Faculty of Engineering and Technology Students' Union (FETSU) members of the university waved placards and raised slogans demanding an early students union election, which is overdue for over three years. Bose went inside the marquee set up for the programme and took his chair on the podium as sloganeering continued outside.

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But he soon sent word to the agitating students that he would like to meet them. A delegation of SFI and FETSU were then closeted with the governor. FETSU president Aritra Majumder later said, "We have nothing against the governor. We only wanted to convey our long-standing demand to hold students' union polls which the JU authorities are delaying for no reason. We tried to intimate him about our democratic rights not being granted and he seemed to be sympathetic to our issue." Majumder said Bose invited the students to the Raj Bhavan to discuss their demands in future if they are dissatisfied.

The governor also told them that he had taken over recently and is yet to get the full grasp of their problems. "Let me know things first. I will certainly look into it," an SFI leader said quoting Bose. The governor told reporters, "If there is a problem there can be ways to solve it. We will find the ways."

Jadavpur University Teachers Association office bearer Partha Pratim Biswas said while the teachers' body supported the demand of the students, "we do not endorse choosing a solemn occasion like the convocation for registering protests even if that is done out of desperation." "The governor subsequently met the students. The agitation could have therefore been avoided. We condemn the form of protest and not the issue," Biswas told PTI.

Bose in his welcome address said he was happy to be in JU which occupies the fourth best spot among Indian universities. "I am proud to be at a place where 42 scientists have got international laurels for their research work. I am happy to be at the annual convocation of the JU," he said. Addressing the students as new generation leaders of India who will lead the country, Bose said they will be the fulcrum of the Indian knowledge society. "Make changes in society, in fields of research and education," the governor added.

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While speaking at the convocation, Jadavpur University Vice Chancellor Surajan Das said the share of UGC share in the institute’s total funds in 2021-22 is only 2.46 per cent while that of the state government is 94.24 per cent. He said the funds provided by the UGC and the West Bengal government have decreased and risen respectively, without divulging details.

Of the Rs 31,468 crore fund received by JU for the year 2021-22, the state has a share of Rs 29,656.82 crore while it got Rs 773.56 crore from UGC. "The decline of funding from the UGC and other federal bodies is alarming,” he said.

The JU had itself generated a fund of Rs 1037.62 crore, which is 3.30 per cent of the total corpus in the same period. Thanking the Mamata Banerjee government, Das said it had also facilitated an additional grant of Rs six crore for the university."Without the West Bengal government's assistance, we would not have been able to maintain our search for excellence," he added.

Das also thanked the JU alumni, stating they always played a crucial role in the progress of the institution. "In the last two academic years, Jadavpur Alumni Association granted student scholarships worth Rs 42 lakh and awarded medals to 76 departmental toppers.