The issues relating to the functioning of state-run universities in West Bengal seem to be turning into a permanent bone of contention between the Raj Bhavan and the state secretary. Governor CV Ananda Bose’s proposal for the creation of the post of student vice-chancellors from among extraordinarily meritorious students of the universities concerned has upset the state education department.
Who are student VCs?
As per the governor, the “student vice-chancellor” can be appointed from among the extraordinarily meritorious students, who have displayed excellent performance at the post-graduation level and are currently undergoing doctorate or other higher studies, as stated in a report by IANS.
On the other hand, State Education Minister Bratya Basu said that although he is not quite aware of the exact proposal on this count, the appointment of vice-chancellors will have to be made as per guidelines set by the University Grants Commission (UGC). “The UGC norms clearly say that anyone appointed as the vice-chancellor of any state university will have to have a minimum experience in the post of professor, which means that the total teaching experience will be to the tune of 20 years,” he said.
On Friday, June 30, it was announced that the Governor’s House in Bengal will be introducing parallel awards on its behalf for outstanding educationists, students and researchers associated with these state universities. This led to another tussle as traditionally, the state education department had been the authority for announcing such awards in the education sector of the state.
What happened earlier?
Recently, the Raj Bhavan-State Secretariat spar reached its peak as the governor appointed interim vice-chancellors for 11 state universities and the state government decided to stop payment of allowances and other financial entitlements to them.
After this, the matter reached the Calcutta High Court and finally on June 26, a division bench dismissed the public interest litigation (PIL) filed challenging the decision of the Governor to appoint interim vice-chancellors for 11 state universities without the concurrence of the state education department.
Additionally, it also observed that the appointments of vice-chancellors in 11 state universities were valid. The bench also observed that it is the responsibility of the state government to pay the salaries, allowances and other financial entitlements to these vice-chancellors.
