Nine vice-chancellors posts vacant in West Bengal, low interest for post of principal: Partha Chatterjee

The government is trying to fill up the vacancies, he said, adding that the nine universities that do not have V-Cs at present include Calcutta University, Kalyani University, Bankura University, Raiganj University, Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad Institute of Technology, Diamond Harbour Women University, West Bengal State University, West Bengal University of Teachers’ Training, Education Planning and Administration, Sanskrit College and University.

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Also there is low interest for the post of principals, he noted while pointing out how the Public Service Commission has received “only 27 applications” in the last two attempts to fill the vacancies in 42 government colleges.

Chatterjee was responding to a question from senior Congress MLA Manas Bhunia.

Asked about the steps the government was taking for the appointment of V-Cs, Chatterjee said that there were no representative from CU and KU for the search committees for the appointment of V-Cs.

“Only the names of the representatives from the senate are awaited for the formation of search committees. As soon as it is done, the panels would start functioning,” he said and added that in case of CU, the delay was also because the report of financial irregularities was yet to arrive.

He said there will be government interventions whenever required as it provides funds and has the responsibility to prevent financial misuse as public funds are involved. Opposition, Chatterjee said, always made hue and cry about whatever steps the government takes in respect of education, even if it investigates misappropriation of Rs 800 crore in universities.

Congress leader Manas Bhunia said higher education of the state has hit the bottom and the government interventions were indirect control on educational institutions. He accused the \Mamata Banerjee government of setting up several universities “without building the required infrastructure first”.

“Colleges have no principals, universities have no vice-chancellors and hospitals and medical colleges have no principals. These educational institutions are running without a head because of which the education system is getting affected. Standards of higher education has reached the bottom level,” Bhunia said, holding disruption in the campuses, which prevent qualified people from taking up positions of responsibilities, responsible for the crisis.

“He (Chatterjee) said that since the government was paying money to these institutes, it needed to be careful. This in a way means that the government would intervene in the functioning of universities and colleges. The minister failed to give any specific, time-bound programme for solving the logjam,” Bhunia told reporters outside the Assembly.