The Assembly on Friday passed the West Bengal University Laws (Amendment Ordinance) 2023 to facilitate the appointment of full-term vice-chancellors in state-aided universities, which are now helmed by officiating VCs.
The state government had promulgated an ordinance in May to facilitate the search for full-term VCs because the Assembly was not in session.
“We brought an ordinance in May. Now, we have passed the bill.... The composition of the search committee has been widened to five members from three," education minister Bratya Basu said in his chamber in the Assembly.
During a debate on the bill in the House, BJP MLA Shankar Ghosh alleged that the chief minister’s nominee has been accommodated in the committee to control the selection process.
Basu said in response they opted for a five-member panel in accordance with UGC rules framed in 2018.
“Usually, a four-member committee is constituted. If there is a tie, the fifth member helps in resolving the situation. Since the chancellor gave his consent to the ordinance, we hoped the Opposition would support the bill," Basu said in the House.
Asked about Ghosh's demand that a nominee of the Opposition leader be accommodated in the panel, Basu said in his chamber: “I don’t have anything to say on this.”
The bill says the search-cum-selection committee “will now be constituted in the following manner — (i) a nominee of the chancellor, who shall be the chairperson of the committee;(ii) a nominee of the chief minister; (iii) a nominee of the chairman, UGC; (iv) a nominee of the State Government; and (v) a nominee of the chairman, West Bengal State Council of Higher Education.”
Earlier, each search committee had three members — a nominee each of the chancellor, higher education department and the university concerned.
When told that BJP MLAs had urged the chancellor to not sign the bill, Basu said: “If the governor acts in accordance with what they are saying, then this will give a further seal of approval on our allegation that Raj Bhavan is guided by what the BJP says.”