Calcutta University has decided to hold a meeting of its highest decision-making body, the syndicate, on May 24, regardless of an advisory from the higher education department asking state-aided universities not to hold any such meeting.

On April 1, the department asked the universities not to convene meetings of their decision-making bodies or hold convocations “without the approval of the state government” because the universities do not have regular, full-term vice-chancellors.

The CU registrar on Saturday said they decided to hold the meeting as issues like increasing the number of undergraduate seats and modifying syllabuses must be addressed urgently.

The issue of awarding career advancement schemes to teachers in the biochemistry department, too, will be discussed at the May 24 meeting.

The department in its April 1 advisory also asked the varsities to refrain from offering any promotion benefits as this would amount to violating rules.

“We have called a meeting of the syndicate on May 24. The department has issued an advisory. But if the university does not hold the meeting, academic and administrative decisions cannot be approved and executed,” registrar Debasis Das told The Telegraph.

The April 1 advisory said: “...the universities are holding meetings of the Court/Senate/Governing board and Syndicate/Executive Council and other bodies of the universities as well as convocations without the approval of the state government in violation of Rule 3(5) of the West Bengal State Universities (Terms and Conditions of Service of Vice-Chancellors and Manner and Procedure of Official Communication) Rules, 2019.”

Rule 3(5) says: “The person holding charge of the office of the vice-chancellor shall only discharge to do the routine functions of the university but shall not hold any meeting of the Senate, Court/ Governing board or the syndicate/ executive council of the university without prior permission of the state Government.”

A Calcutta University official said there was no point in seeking any approval from the department as earlier communications had been turned down on the ground that the university was helmed by an officiating vice-chancellor appointed by the governor without consulting the department. Governor C.V. Ananda Bose is the chancellor of state-aided universities and he appointed Santa Datta as the interim VC in June last year.

The department has filed a special leave petition in the Supreme Court challenging the chancellor’s authority to appoint VCs.

A CU official said whenever the registrar earlier wrote to the department seeking permission to hold the syndicate meeting, it was denied.

“In January, the university had to hold a syndicate meeting despite not getting approval as the university had to approve examination regulations in sync with the four-year undergraduate programme introduced from the 2024-25 academic year. The syndicate meeting of May 24 will be the first after the April 1 advisory,” he said.

“We are not seeking any approval for this,” the official added.

The university has already offered promotion benefits to teachers of other departments. Only a decision on the biochemistry department has been pending.