The tiff between the Raj Bhavan and the state secretariat in West Bengal over the appointment of vice-chancellors (VCs) in different state universities aggravated further on Thursday over the decision of the Governor’s office to appoint interim VCs in 10 state varsities without consultation with the state education department.
Currently, the VC’s post in 15 state universities is lying vacant and the university authorities have been complaining about operational inconvenience in the absence of anyone in that key chair.
State Education Minister Bratya Basu has reacted strongly to the Governor’s decision to appoint interim VCs in 10 such universities.
“I came to know that the Governor’s House has appointed VCs in 10 state universities from the media. These appointments were announced without any consultation with the education department. They have been done flouting all norms relating to VC’s appointment, and hence such appointments are illegal.
“We are discussing the matter with our legal brains. On behalf of the education department, I request all the newly-appointed VCs not to accept the offer,” Basu said in a Twitter message.
Meanwhile, a section of people in the state’s academic circle feels that it is unfortunate that education has become the ground for tug-of-war between the state secretariat and the Governor’s House.
According to the General Secretary of Jadavpur University Teachers’ Association (JUTA), Partha Pratim Roy, first the state government tried to wrest absolute control over the education sector and now it is facing retaliation.
The appointment of VCs has been a contentious issue between the Governor’s House and the state secretariat for quite some time now.
Recently, the state government had issued an ordinance rejigging the constitution of the search committees for the appointment of VCs. In the proposed search committees, the provision of having a representative from the concerned university was removed.
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