Calcutta University to hold syndicate meeting on October 29

Calcutta University has decided to hold a meeting of its highest decision-making body — the syndicate — on October 29.

The university will conduct the meeting disregarding an advisory from the higher education department asking state-aided universities not to hold any such meeting.

On April 1, the department asked the universities not to convene meetings of their decision-making bodies or hold convocations “without the state government’s approval” because the universities do not have regular, full-term vice-chancellors.

CU registrar Debasis Das said they did not know when the full-term VC would be appointed through the search-cum-selection committee and the administrative decisions could not be approved without holding the syndicate meeting.

On Saturday, registrar Das said they decided to hold the meeting as issues like awarding PhD to students and examination-related issues must be addressed urgently.

“The syndicate meeting will be held on Tuesday. If the important decisions cannot be approved in a meeting of the university’s highest decision-making body, then the campus cannot be governed,” Das told Metro.

The April 1 government advisory said: “...the universities are holding meetings of the Court/Senate/Governing board and Syndicate/Executive Council and other bodies of the universities as well as convocations without the approval of the state government in violation of Rule 3(5) of the West Bengal State Universities (Terms and Conditions of Service of Vice-Chancellors and Manner and Procedure of Official Communication) Rules, 2019.”

Rule 3(5) says: “The person holding charge of the office of the vice-chancellor shall only discharge to do the routine functions of the university but shall not hold any meeting of the Senate, Court/ Governing board or the syndicate/ executive council of the university without prior permission of the State Government.”

Governor C.V. Ananda Bose, in his capacity as the ex-officio chancellor of state-aided universities, had appointed Santa Datta as the interim VC in June last year allegedly without consulting the state government.

An education department official said the process of selecting full-term VCs at state-aided universities, including CU, through a Supreme-Court-appointed search-cum-selection committee is currently underway and a full-term VC is expected to be appointed soon.

“Since the interim VCs are not authorised to take crucial administrative decisions, Calcutta University should not have called the meeting of the syndicate. Let the full-term VC assume the responsibilities and conduct the meeting of the highest-decision-making bodies,” the official said.

A CU official said there was “no point in seeking any permission” from the department as previous petitions had been struck down on the ground that an officiating vice-chancellor helmed the university.

“The appointment of a full-term VC at CU could be delayed. Till then, the officiating VCs should not have any problem presiding over the meeting of the decision-making-bodies,” the official said.