Kolkata: The vice-chancellors of six state-aided universities whose extension of service had been questioned by former West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar handed their resignation to his successor, C.V. Ananda Bose, and got a three-month extension with his approval.
Dhankar had questioned the extension of the VCs’ tenure because the government had issued the orders without his approval. The governor is the ex officio chancellor of all state-aided universities.
An organisation of college teachers and researchers had filed a PIL in the high court challenging the extension of the tenure of the VCs of 24 state-aided universities, including those who went to Raj Bhavan last week, on the ground that the government had not followed UGC procedures, including obtaining the chancellor’s approval.
An official in the education department said six VCs resigned and got an extension signed by the governor.
Sources said another group of VCs will go to Raj Bhavan to tender their resignation. “Seven VCs are among the 24 whose appointment (extension and full-term appointment) did not have the chancellor’s signature. So it created a legal complication…. Of them, six VCs submitted their resignation to the chancellor and each of them got an extension for a period of three months,” said education minister Bratya Basu, who accompanied the VCs at a news conference.
Sources said the extension of the tenure of the seventh VC was found to be in order. “We will constitute search committees (for the appointment of full-term VCs) and bring an amendment to the law governing search committees. The chief minister has worked this out as well,” the minister said.
Governor Bose, who was seated next to minister Basu, said: “What we witness here is the birth pangs of a new order and death throes of an old one. The litmus test of education is its ability for conflict resolution. We would like to take education to a kind of no-conflict zone…. Some technical issues were there in light of the Supreme Court order. This has been amicably resolved with the vice-chancellors themselves coming forward to tender their resignation voluntarily.”