The new officiating vice-chancellor of Jadavpur University (JU) said he is looking forward to enforcing “discipline” on the campus, which has been on the boil following the death of a first-year student amid complaints of ragging.
Governor C.V. Ananda Bose, in his capacity as chancellor of JU, appointed Buddhadeb Sau as officiating VC late on Saturday.
The Telegraph spoke to Sau on Sunday morning about his priorities as VC.
CCTV: “We will have CCTV cameras installed at the gates of the hostels and the campus to improve public perception about the university. Later, we can explore the possibilities of installing the CCTV cameras in the corridors of the hostels,” Sau said.
“However, we have to factor in concerns of privacy,” he said, referring to the installation of the cameras in hostel corridors.
Registrar Snehamanju Basu had last Thursday announced JU’s decision to install CCTV cameras at the entry and exit points of the hostels and the campus.
Discipline: “Enforcing discipline on the campus will be among my priorities,” Sau said. “The university on Thursday issued a circular on enforcing discipline in the wake of the death of the first-year student. This circular is already in force and discipline has to be maintained at any cost.”
Sau, who is state president of Jatiyotabadi Adhyapak and Gabeshak Sangh, a pro-RSS platform, said his political affiliation “should not be of any concern”.
“I want to work as an administrator in this crisis situation,” he said.
Registrar Basu had on Thursday issued a circular that contained a slew of other measures aimed at enhancing security on the campus. One of the measures requires every individual to produce a JU-issued identity card “on demand” for entering the campus between 8 pm and 7 am.
Hostel segregation: “We have to curb ragging at any cost so no more precious lives are lost. The measures are being debated. As part of this, the university has already earmarked New Boys’ Hostel only for first-year students. If we do not comply with this directive of the UGC (segregation of first-year students at hostel), which was issued in 2009, the regulatory body could stop giving us grants,” said Sau, who has succeeded Amitabha Datta.
Datta had stepped down as officiating VC on August 4 after the governor asked him to resign following a complaint against him by some teachers. Datta is now pro-VC of JU.
A decision by JU’s anti-ragging committee, of which Sau is a member, to earmark New Boys’ Hostel for first-year students has triggered protests. Postgraduate students who stay at the hostel have refused to vacate it.
The senior students are saying they are opposed to the decision because it has been taken without consulting them. “We will look into the issue,” said Sau.
Security: “The university is looking forward to beefing up security on the campus and at hostels. The authorities had last week decided to engage ex-servicemen as security personnel at the hostels,” Sau said.
“We will write to the state government for funds for the installation of CCTV cameras across strategic points of the campus and hostels and hiring ex-servicemen.”
Dean resigns
The dean of science at JU, Subenoy Chakrabarti, stepped down on Sunday, around the same time as Sau was completing formalities in the presence of registrar Basu before taking charge of the university.
Chakrabarti, who heads the seven-member committee constituted to probe the death of the first-year student, cited personal reasons for his resignation. When contacted by this newspaper, Chakrabarti declined to comment.