Calcutta University has decided to offer the career advancement scheme (promotion) scheme to teachers regardless of an advisory from the higher education department asking the state-aided universities to refrain from offering any promotion benefits.
The university’s registrar said they decided after taking legal opinion.
After the April 1 advisory, the CU sought legal opinion on whether it could continue with the promotion scheme for teachers.
The government had asked universities to “abstain from violating provisions” of a state government act by “extending CAS (career advancement scheme) benefit”.
Registrar Debasis Das said according to the legal opinion, the university would not violate Section 3(1) (ii) of the West Bengal Universities (Control of Expenditure) Act, 1976, by offering the benefits.
“Such schemes are guided by the UGC orders. Therefore, the university has decided to give effect to the scheme following legal opinion,” said Das.
The university initially thought of writing to the Election Commission of India asking whether it could offer promotion to teachers.
“The legal opinion received last week said there was no need to consult the commission,” the registrar told The Telegraph.
“We are not appointing any teachers. We are just offering a benefit to existing teachers,” Das said.
The April 1 advisory said: “ ...That it has come to the Knowledge of the State Government that CAS (career advancement scheme) benefits were extended to the teaching staff of the University in violation of Section 3(1)(ii) of the West Bengal Universities (Control of Expenditure) Act, 1976, & in absence of Govt order in this regard. You are requested to abstain from violating aforesaid provisions in extending CAS Benefit.”
The advisory was issued amid a turf war between the education department and the governor, the chancellor of state-aided universities, over appointing officiating vice-chancellors allegedly without consulting the state education department.
Calcutta University is helmed by Santa Datta, an officiating VC, appointed by the chancellor in June last year.
The Telegraph had earlier reported that the bar on the promotion scheme had triggered career concerns among teachers.
They alleged that the state government was trying to stop the career advancement scheme by misinterpreting the West Bengal Universities (Control of Expenditure) Act 1976.
“Section 3 of the Act applies to paying an allowance. But allowance and the advancement scheme are two different things,” said Sanatan Chattopadhyay, secretary of the Calcutta University Teachers’ Association.
Registrar Das said the promotion scheme would initially be offered to 20 teachers of the university.
“The candidates will be judged based on their Academic Performance Index (API) scores...,” he said.