Kolkata: Over 400 faculty members of the Jadavpur University Teachers Association (JUTA) on Wednesday submitted a representation to West Bengal Governor R N Ravi, urging him to take steps for withdrawal of a Bill allowing inter-university transfer of varsity teachers.

The representation was signed by 401 JUTA members, its general secretary Partha Pratim Roy said.

"The letter was drafted on September 14 but sent to the Chancellor on Wednesday," he told PTI.

The governor is also the chancellor of state-run universities in West Bengal.

The communication comes weeks after passage of the West Bengal Universities and Colleges (Administration and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026, in the assembly on September 10.

The Bill empowers the government to transfer teaching and non-teaching staffers from one state university to another.

The provision has been opposed by several university teachers' bodies, which have raised concerns over institutional autonomy, service conditions and the impact on teaching and research.

In its representation, JUTA argued that individual universities function under their own statutes and regulations, and that appointments are made under university-specific service conditions.

The association also questioned the legality of "compelling employees to work under conditions different from those prevailing when they joined the respective institutions".

JUTA said compulsory transfers could disrupt ongoing research projects, too.

It suggested that if teachers from better-equipped universities were required to assist institutions with inadequate infrastructure, short-term assignments could be considered instead of permanent or inter-university transfers.

Uncertainty over workplace location could discourage highly qualified academics from seeking teaching positions in state universities, JUTA said in the representation.

This report was published from a syndicated wire feed. Apart from the headline, the EdexLive Desk has not edited the copy.