West Bengal university chancellors should have strong academic, non-political backgrounds: Academics

KOLKATA: The Supreme Court’s order to form a joint search-cum-selection committee to expedite the appointment of vice-chancellors in West Bengal has left professors in the state miffed. The order issued on July 8 comes against the backdrop of the impasse between the West Bengal government and governor Ananda Bose over the appointment of VCs of state universities.

The selection committees, led by former Chief Justice of India UU Lalit, was to be formed within two weeks. The court had shortlisted experts, including scientists, educationists, jurists, subject matter experts and administrators, to be part of the committees. Also, the committees would include nominees from the chancellor, chief minister and the University Grants Commission (UGC), the state government and the higher education department of West Bengal. The SC ordered that the committees would consist of five members and generate a list of four candidates in order to appoint VCs in the state universities that were functioning without full-time ones. The entire process is to be concluded within three months.

Following the order, the West Bengal government started inviting applications for 36 state universities which have been operating without a full-time VC for nearly two years.

West Bengal VC row: Selection panel complaints

As per a Press Trust of India report, the Supreme Court had asked both the West Bengal government and the UGC to independently suggest three to-five names for each university.

The teachers alleged that a few from the search committee are also applying for the post of vice-chancellor, implying a conflict-of-interest in the selection process. Although multiple academics repeated this allegation, Careers360 could not independently verify this.

Further, the age limit required for the purpose has been tampered with, say the teachers "The UGC has laid down the age limit at 65 years, but according to what we got to know, it has been increased to 70 years."

"To become a vice-chancellor, one should have 10 years of experience with high academic standards. If that’s the case, how can the search committee be formed with principals or associate professors of colleges? This is totally unacceptable. It also came to light that those who are on the search committee are also applying for the VC posts. How is this being allowed?" said a teacher on condition of anonymity.

"We are looking for a permanent VC, not an officiating one," added a professor.

"It is very unfortunate that the Supreme Court had to intervene. The selection committee should have had academics with strong values and from prominent institutions like the IISC or the IITs," said another professor teaching at one of the universities.

None was willing to be named in this story and cited the Supreme Court case as reason. An email sent to the department of higher education for clarity on these allegations was unanswered. This copy will be updated if and when they respond.

Officiating VCs and problems

An officiating vice-chancellor could never make important decisions, said Partha Pratim Roy, general secretary of Jadavpur University Teachers Association (JUTA). The university's court, council, and executive council also did not function properly, and that is why the teachers' representatives are not present in the committee, he added.

Ragging, lawlessness on the campus, infrastructure-related issues, and non-functioning academic and executive committees are some of the many issues that have cropped up in the absence of a permanent vice chancellor.

"We received funds, but they were not properly utilised due to ineffective overall administration. Essential equipment was not purchased and as a result, projects were hit. Since all projects are time-bound, we ultimately lost out," added Roy.

Who can be chancellor: Teachers’ take

he West Bengal University Laws (Amendment) Bill 2023 was passed in the state assembly on August 4 despite opposition from the BJP. The bill stipulates that the chief minister will serve as the chancellor of all state-aided universities, replacing the governor in this role. This is the second time the bill has been passed; earlier it was passed in 2022. However, officially, the governor continues to be the chancellor.

The teachers further emphasised that a non-political person with a purely academic background should be the chancellor of a university.

"How can one person be the chancellor of so many universities? How can one person look at the activities of all the universities? Only one person should be the chancellor of one university like those in private universities," said Roy.

"One person (a university chancellor) can effectively oversee and be more interested in the activities going on in a particular university. A person with political interest cannot do justice as a chancellor," added Ambikesh Mahapatra, department of chemistry, Jadavpur University.