Bengal governor’s request for list of 5 senior-most profs sparks buzz

KOLKATA: West Bengal governor CV Ananda Bose has asked the vice-chancellors (V-Cs) of the state universities to send a list of their five most-experienced and qualified professors, state education department officials said.

The letter, which reached the V-Cs last week, has triggered speculation that Raj Bhavan may be in the process of creating a database of professors who could be elevated as V-Cs following the Calcutta high court’s order last month.

The high court on March 14 cancelled the appointment of vice chancellors of 29 state universities whose term was extended till May 31, ruling that the state has no power to appoint, re-appoint or extend the tenure of V-Cs

The bench comprising the then chief justice Prakash Shrivastava and justice Rajarshi Bharadwaj said the V-Cs should be appointed on the recommendation of a search committee comprising representatives of UGC, the governor and the state in line with the University Grants Commission (UGC) 2018 regulations.

The high court’s order came on a public interest litigation (PIL) challenging the validity of the amendments made by the state government in the appointment rules in 2012 and 2014. The 2014 amendment excluded UGC from the appointment process.

A state education department official, who did not want to be named, said the government requires time to form search committees following the court’s order.

The development comes amid growing differences between Raj Bhawan and the state government over running of universities.

Education minister Bratya Basu on Friday said the governor should clear the West Bengal University Laws (Amendment) Bill 2022 which sought to make the chief minister the chancellor of the state-run universities in place of the governor.

The bill was not cleared by former governor Jagdeep Dhankhar with whom the TMC government had an acrimonious relationship. Basu said: “The passing of the bill with absolute majority in the assembly implies that Mamata Banerjee is the chancellor all state universities. The governor should either clear it or return it us so that we can get it passed once again and send it back to him.”

The governor has not commented on the minister’s remark. When reporters sought his Bose’s reaction on Friday, he declined comment. “Thank you for the information,” he said.

The education minister’s comment came weeks after Raj Bhawan asked all V-Cs to submit weekly reports on their activities.

Raj Bhawan officials did not comment on the letter sent to the V-Cs.