Fresh Raj Bhavan - Bengal Govt Tussle Brewing over Interim VCS' Authority Issue

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.

Raj Bhavan insiders said that amid 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 government department that interim vice- chancellors do not have the authority to convene such meetings.

In the communiqué, Raj Bhavan insiders said, it has been pointed out that the relevant State Act in the matter authorizes 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.

Explained a state government insider that the tussle between the state secretariat and the Raj Bhavan in the matter has surfaced over the fine-line on who actually can convene policy-making committee meetings of the state universities.

On one hand, he explained, the state education department’s argument is that only permanent vice-chancellors, and not the interim ones, are authorized to convene such meetings. However, the argument of the Governor’s House is that since both permanent and interim vice-chancellors are appointed by the Governor, as the chancellor of state universities, both have authority to convene such meetings.

The tussle over the matter surfaced recently after the state education department first denied the interim-vice chancellor of Jadavpur University (JU) Buddhadeb Sau to convene the working committee meeting and then Sau’s counterpart in the University of Calcutta Shanta Dutta to convene the university’s syndicate meeting.

The syndicate meeting was especially crucial as it was supposed to take some decisions over the introduction of a “new examination system” in light of the new education policy nationally for the 169 colleges under the jurisdiction of the University of Calcutta.