Students, Teachers Warn of Stir Over Jadavpur University VC Imbroglio

A section of students and teachers at Jadavpur University (JU) have threatened to launch a stir if the imbroglio over the appointment of a regular vice-chancellor did not end soon.

Confusion has prevailed after Professor Buddhadeb Sau was removed from the post of officiating VC by West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose on December 23, a day before the annual convocation of the varsity.

Sau, who was allowed to host the convocation by the state’s higher education department, was not present in his office on Tuesday as the university reopened after the winter break, a JU official told PTI.

The mathematics professor, however, interacted with students and faculty, he said. Unhappy with the “disruption” in academic and administrative work due to the impasse, the SFI, an influential students’ union of the varsity and the Jadavpur University Teachers’ Association (JUTA), have warned of launching an agitation if the matter was not resolved soon.

This prolonged uncertainty caused by the governor’s action has to come to an end We are now worried over reports questioning the validity of the certificates awarded to students signed by Professor Sau at the convocation. We demand the immediate appointment of a regular VC, Students’ Federation of India (SFI) leader Tisa Bhandari said.

She said the SFI would stage demonstrations in a few days once the semester exams of different departments conclude. The future of students cannot be sacrificed due to this impasse. We will not sit idle if the situation doesn’t change, Bhandari added.

Partha Pratim Roy, the general secretary of JUTA, also said it would start a movement if a full-time VC was not appointed soon. We are all worried as Mr Sau has not been attending office after December 24, barring one occasion. There are several important documents to be signed by the VC’s office and this impasse is disrupting administrative work, Roy said. Sau could not be contacted for comments.

Governor Bose had earlier told journalists that the JU convocation was unauthorised and unlawful. The education department, meanwhile, has maintained that since the matter of appointment of full-time VCs of state universities is currently pending with the Supreme Court, Sau cannot be removed by the governor.

Bose, who is also the chancellor of state-run universities, had said he was trying to find a legally acceptable solution, protecting the interests of students.