Amidst a row with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over the appointment of vice-chancellors of state-run universities, Raj Bhavan on Tuesday announced formation of search committees for selecting teachers against large numbers of vacant posts in various varsities.

Governor CV Ananda Bose, in his capacity as the Chancellor of state-run universities, announced a ‘SPEED’ (Simplified Procedure for Easy and Effective Decision making) programme and his office said 25 teacher selection committees are being constituted as part of the initiative.

"The Chancellor is intent to ensure all teaching positions are filled up in the higher educational institutions so that quality of education in those places does not suffer for lack of professors, associate professors, etc," an official said.

"A Vice Chancellor Committee has also been set up to identify the backlog in the University administration and to suggest ways and means for revamping and rebooting the University system," the official said.

The move is likely to escalate an ongoing war of words between Bose and the chief minister who is currently on a trip to Dubai and Spain to woo investors to the state.

The move comes in the wake of a confrontation between the state government and Raj Bhavan over the appointment of officiating VCs in eight state universities and the decision to come up with names of eight others. Reacting to the chancellor's decision, former VC of North Bengal University and spokesperson of the Educationists Forum Omprakash Mishra said he is not sure if the governor can form a committee to oversee the filling up of posts of teachers in universities in this way.

"This has no legal validity. If he does so, it will be considered another act by him to bypass the higher education department and every provision of acts and university statutes," he said.

The governor had earlier declared himself as the VC of those universities where that post was vacant and then went back on his statement, he claimed.

"This will also meet the same fate," Mishra, an eminent academic at Jadavpur University, said The chief minister had earlier launched a scathing attack on Bose, accusing him of violating norms and threatening to impose an economic blockade on universities.

Besides Banerjee, Education Minister Bratya Basu and former VCs close to the ruling Trinamool Congress have blamed Bose for violating rules and acting unilaterally bypassing the higher education department to go ahead with the appointments.

"The governor is acting in a dictatorial manner ignoring the CM who is elected by the people. We will not tolerate this. There will be tit-for-tat action," Banerjee had said.

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