Summary
The the state higher education department said holding a meeting in the absence of a full-term VC will violate the rules it had introduced in December 2019
Jadavpur University postponed its executive council meeting a day after the state higher education department asked the university not to hold it on the ground that JU does not have a “regular (full-term) vice-chancellor”.
Officiating VC Buddhadeb Sau said on Friday that they postponed the meeting, which was called to finalise formalities for the December 24 convocation, following opposition from the department.
The department said holding a meeting in the absence of a full-term VC will violate the rules it had introduced in December 2019.
Sau said they would apprise the department about the difficulties JU will face because of the postponement.
The council was scheduled to meet also to finalise the budget for this financial year.
“This is the second time this month that we had to postpone the meeting. This meeting was specifically convened to finalise the formalities for the ensuing annual and special convocation scheduled on December 24. We will inform the department that if the university is not allowed to hold an EC (executive council) meeting then complications will arise about conducting the convocation and approving the budget,” Sau said.
“According to the university statute, we cannot decide on these issues without holding the council meeting,” he said.
The department had prevented JU from holding a meeting on November 5 by sending a similar communication the previous day.
Friday’s meeting was to start at 2pm. Around 1.40pm, JU registrar Snehamanju Basu sent an email to the council members saying: “As directed, this is to inform you that due to some unavoidable circumstances, the 36th EC meeting scheduled to be held today, November 24, 2023, has been postponed till further notice”.
“This will create an administrative deadlock on the campus,” said a JU official.
JU has an officiating VC ever since governor C.V. Ananda Bose, the ex-officio chancellor of the state-aided universities, appointed Sau, allegedly without consulting the department.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and education minister Bratya Basu have publicly spoken about their disapproval of officiating VCs being handpicked by the chancellor.
Gautam Maity, a member of JU’s executive council, said: “JU is finding itself caught in a turf war between Raj Bhavan and Bikash Bhavan, the secretariat of the education department. Administrative and academic activities are suffering because of this tussle.”
The state government has moved the Supreme Court challenging the chancellor’s authority to unilaterally appoint officiating VCs.
“According to the latest verdict of the Supreme Court, an officiating VC would receive the pay commensurate with the previous post, not of a VC. So, an officiating VC cannot take any major policy decision. So, the department was right in restraining the officiating VC from taking any major policy decision through the executive council,” said Manojit Mandal, the department’s nominee to the council.
Last updated on 25 Nov 2023
