The state higher education department has told Jadavpur University that the students’ union election has to wait till an ongoing process to amend rules governing campus polls is complete.
An official in the department said they have proposed that 55 per cent of the seats in the union be reserved for female students. The proposal has been sent to the law department for vetting.
The official said the West Bengal Universities and Colleges (Composition, Function and Procedure for Election of Students’ Council) Rules 2017 don’t have any provision for such reservation.
If the proposal is approved, the rules drafted in 2017 have to be amended. “So the polls at JU and other state-aided universities have to wait till the proposal is approved and the relevant rules are amended,” the official said.
Another official in the higher education department said the reservation of 55 per cent seats in the union would encourage more female students to enrol in colleges and universities.
“Already, there are more girls than boys at the Madhyamik and higher secondary levels. The participation of female students is on the rise at colleges and universities, too. Reservation of seats in the students’ union would draw more and more female students to higher education,” the official said.
“Girls would feel empowered as more than half the seats in the union would be reserved for them.”
The department wrote to JU’s acting registrar Indrajit Banerjee on January 7: “In response to your letter... the undersigned is directed to inform you that higher education department is in the process of amendment of the West Bengal Universities and Colleges (Composition, Function and Procedure for Election of Students’ Council) Rules 2017. In such circumstances, you are requested to wait for further instructions from this end.”
The department is also considering a proposal to reserve seats in the students’ union for those from reserved categories, the official said.
The higher education department had brought in the West Bengal Universities and Colleges (Composition, Functions and Procedure for Election of Students’ Council) Rules in June 2017 to make campus polls a biennial affair.
According to the rules, student organisations will not use the banner or emblem of any political party during the campaign and the polls.
The rules also say students must have at least 60 per cent attendance to contest for the position of class representative.
Education minister Bratya Basu said on Thursday the department is likely to decide on the campus polls after the Madhyamik and higher secondary examinations.
The two board exams will be over by February-end.
JU acting registrar Banerjee said: “We have got a reply from the government to a communication sent two years ago.”