The state higher education department has recommended Bhaskar Gupta, a professor in the electronics and telecommunications engineering department of
Jadavpur University and former chairman of the Bengal joint entrance examination board, as interim vice-chancellor of JU.
The department announced the names of its candidates for JU and five other universities a day after the attorney-general, representing the Bengal governor, told the Supreme Court on Tuesday that vacancies in the posts of vice-chancellors in six universities will be filled with candidates from a list recommended by the state government.
JU is among the six state-aided universities.
The governor, the ex-officio chancellor of all state-aided universities, had earlier been accused of unilaterally appointing stop-gap vice-chancellors bypassing the state government.
The state government has recommended Asutosh Ghosh, former interim VC of Calcutta University, as the interim VC of Rani Rashmoni Green University in Hooghly.
The government has also proposed Prem Poddar for Darjeeling Hills University in Darjeeling, Amiya Kumar Panda for Sadhu Ram Chand Murmu University in Jhargram, Pabitra Chattopadhyay for Gour Banga University in Malda, and Tapan Kumar Biswas for Harichand Guruchand University in North 24-Parganas.
After the attorney-general’s submission in the apex court, during the hearing on the state’s challenge to the chancellor’s power to appoint interim VCs bypassing the higher education department, Bengal education minister Bratya Basu posted on X: “Six to start with! Definitely will end thirty-one (31 state-aided universities)! Hopefully the Hon’ble Supreme Court will instill some good sense in Raj Bhawan!”
At JU, Buddhadeb Sau was removed from the post of officiating VC by the chancellor on December 23 after he dared to hold the university’s annual convocation ignoring Raj Bhavan’s wish. The governor had appointed Sau as officiating VC in August 2023.
Since Sau’s removal by the governor, the education department has twice asked him to continue as officiating VC, but he has stayed away from the office of the VC citing the conflicting orders from the governor and the government.
The university has been facing difficulties as meetings of important bodies such as the executive council could not be held in the absence of a VC in the office.
“The Supreme Court on several occasions said the department and the chancellor must sit together so the VCs could be appointed at the earliest in the 31 state-
aided universities.... After months of delay, the chancellor has finally agreed to accept six names recommended by the state government, as reflected from what the attorney-general submitted in the Supreme Court,” an official in the higher education department.
“The submission suggests the chancellor has accepted the contention that the state government has the final say in the appointment of VCs in state-aided universities.”
A professor in Jadavpur University said they are relieved that some of the names recommended by the state government have been accepted by the chancellor.
“The department was not allowing the VCs appointed unilaterally by the chancellor to function. On April 1, it had asked state-aided universities not to convene meetings of their decision-making bodies or hold convocations without the approval of the state government. The department even put a stay on offering the career advancement scheme to teachers,” the professor said. “Such a handicap was causing a severe inconvenience to the universities.”
The department’s April 1 advisory said “all the state-aided universities are now being run by persons... who are authorised by the Hon’ble Chancellor of the University”.
It added: “It is pertinent to mention here that such authorisation is challenged vide SLP (special leave petition) bearing No. 17403 of 2023, which is pending before hon’ble Supreme Court.”
Education minister Basu said in a written statement on Wednesday: “Hon’bleChancellor is avoiding consultation with the State Government, in the name of being the appointing authority. Process of consultation is welldefined in various rulings of hon’ble SC. In case hon’ble Chancellor does not consider the list sent by the State Government for the remaining 25 universities, we shallbring it to the kind notice of hon’ble SC in the next hearing. Elected Government knows best the ethos, Culture of a State, much better than anyone else and the State Government is best to suggest recommendation to hon’ble Chancellor, like hon’ble Chief Justice of a High Court suggest recommendation for District Judges to the hon’ble Governor.”