Under well-established convention, state governors are also required ex-officio to serve as chancellors of government universities in all states and union territories. But fresh tussle between the Raj Bhavan and state secretariat in West Bengal seems to be brewing amid repeated denials from the state education department to governor-appointed interim vice chancellors in state universities to convene crucial meetings of the working committee of syndicates.
After repeated denials of permissions from the state education department on this count, a communiqué has been forwarded to all state universities nullifying the contention of the state education department that interim vice-chancellors do not have the authority to convene such meetings. In the communiqué, the Raj Bhavan has pointed out that the relevant State Act in the matter authorises any interim vice chancellor to convene and conduct any meeting of any policy-making committee of any state university, be it working committee or syndicate or senate.
The tussle between the state secretariat and the Raj Bhavan in the matter has surfaced over who actually can convene policy-making committee meetings of the state universities. On one hand, the state education department’s argument is that only permanent vice chancellors, and not the interim ones, are authorised to convene such meetings. However, the argument of the Raj Bhavan is that since both permanent and interim vice chancellors are appointed by the governor as a chancellor of state universities, both have the authority to convene such meetings.
The clash between the West Bengal government and the governor over the matter surfaced recently after the state education department denied the interim vice chancellor of Jadavpur University Buddhadeb Sau to convene the working committee meeting. Calcutta University vice chancellor Shanta Dutta was also not allowed to convene the university’s syndicate meeting. The syndicate meeting was especially crucial as it was supposed to take some decisions in light of the new education policy for the 169 colleges under the jurisdiction of Calcutta University.
This confrontation between Raj Bhavan and the Trinamool Congress government is nothing new. In July 2022, then Governor Jagdeep Dhankar set a precedent by appointing Mahua Mukherjee, professor, Department of Dance, as vice chancellor of the Central government funded Rabindra Bharati University (RBU) despite objections from the state government. The state government passed the West Bengal University Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2022 in the assembly to appoint the chief minister as chancellor of all state government universities. But Dhankar refused to give his assent to the bill.
The frequent clashes between the state government and governor are the latest worry of bona fide academics about the future of West Bengal’s higher education system, at a time when Bengal’s school education system is mired in a multi-crore teacher recruitment scam which has stalled new appointments of teachers. This stand-off will significantly alter the academic landscape of the state. In such face-offs the interests of students suffer.
