Kolkata: Move to nominate student wing leaders in college governing bodies triggers controversy

Kolkata: A move by the authorities to nominate a number of student wing leaders of the ruling Trinamool Congress to the governing bodies of state-run colleges has triggered controversy as a prominent teachers' body on Wednesday described it as politicisation of the higher education system.

An official of the West Bengal State Council of Higher Education said more than 80 student representatives were nominated to the governing bodies of colleges to give them wider representation. He, however, refused to say if they belonged to Trinamool Chhatra Parishad (TMCP) or other student bodies.

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TMCP state president Trinankur Bhattacharya has been nominated to the governing body of Kanchrapara College in North 24 Parganas district. "Being a representative of students, I will work towards improving the academic standard of the college under the guidance of our teachers, in the interest of our students," Bhattacharya said.

Jadavpur University Teachers' Association (JUTA) alleged that the student leaders nominated to the governing body of colleges are active members of the TMC or the TMCP.

"Several such nominees are still students themselves, since they are pursuing doctoral degrees in various universities of the state. JUTA strongly condemns this total politicisation of the higher education system," the teachers' body said in a statement.

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The academic standards will be inevitably diluted when such individuals with little or no academic credentials and owing allegiance to a particular political party are in decision-making positions in institutions of higher learning, Juta claimed. "It is particularly unfortunate that student leaders who have manhandled teachers of universities/colleges are now being rewarded," JUTA General Secretary Partha Pratim Roy told PTI.

A student leader who had slapped a Calcutta University teacher in the past has been inducted into a college governing body in Kolkata, Roy claimed. He, however, did not name any student leader.