Kolkata: The West Bengal education department will bring some changes in the structure of search committees for the appointment of vice-chancellors in state universities by making room for a representative of the University Grants Commission (UGC) there.
However, in the changed structure too, the state government will ensure that its own representatives will have the numerical supremacy over the UGC nominee.
Sources from the state education department said that as per the proposed changes the strength of the search committee will be increased to five from the existing strength of three.
“Currently, the three members of the search committee include one representative from the state government, one from the state university concerned and third is a Governor- appointed nominee. In the changed structure, there will be one representative from UGC, one from the state university concerned, one Governor-appointed nominee and two state government nominees,” a state education department official said on strict condition of anonymity.
This ideally means that despite making room for the UGC nominee, the state government will have its numerical supremacy in the search committees for appointments of vice- chancellors in state universities.
Originally, such search committees did not have a single state government representative. The three members of committee used to be one from the state university concerned, one from UGC and the third used to be Governor- appointed nominee.
This system was followed during the entire 34- year long Left Front rule from 1977 to 2011. The same system was followed in the first three years of Trinamool Congress regime between 2011 and 2014, when the state education department was ministered by Bratya Basu, who is also the current state education minister.
However, in 2014, soon after Partha Chatterjee became the state education minister, he amended the constitution of the search committees by showing doors to the UGC nominee and making room for the state government nominee. However, the appointment and re-appointment of vice chancellors in a number of state universities by search committees without an UGC representative faced legal hurdles and in many cases such appointments and reappointment were nullified following court orders.
Partha Chatterjee is currently in judicial custody for his alleged involvement in the multi- crore scam in recruitment of teaching and non- teaching staff in state run- schools in West Bengal.
Finally, now the state government has decided to make room for an UGC nominee in the search committees again, but after ensuring the numerical supremacy of the state government nominees there.
–IANS