According to the University rules, the appointment has to be done by the Chancellor but he has to make the decision by consulting the state education department.
Kolkata| Jagdeep Dhankar, West Bengal Governor, in an unprecedented move, has appointed his choice of Pro-Chancellor of Burdwan University, dismissing the recommendation made by the Mamata Banerjee government. Being the Chancellor of the state-run university, Dhankar has exercised his might.
On Monday evening, in a notification issued by Dhankar, there was surprisingly no mention of the state education department. Prof Goutam Chandra, head of Zoology Department, Burdwan University was appointed by the governor.
According to the rules, the appointment has to be done by the Chancellor but he has to make the decision by consulting the state education department. The Mamata government, thus, considers the notification as a violation of protocols.
“This is shocking but not surprising. The governor has appointed a BJP man. This is unfortunate. We had made our recommendation in the interest of the university but this appointment reflects the interest of a political party” Partha Chatterjee, the Bengal education minister said coming down heavily on the governor.
In an interesting development late evening on Monday, hours after the notification by the governor, the Bengal state government issued its own notification appointing Prof Asish Kumar Panigrahi, Professor of Zoology, Kalyani University as the Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the university.
On Monday evening, for the post of the Pro vice-chancellor of Burdwan university, there were two appointments- one by the state government and one by the governor.
According to the sources, the state government had sent its recommendation for the post of Pro VC to Dhankar a week ago. Though Dhankar had responded to the recommendation by suggesting two more names from his side, the state government had underlined their first recommendation as their preferred choice.
Also Read: Mamata’s appeasement policy adversely affecting social harmony in Bengal: WB Governor
“Whereas, the chancellor, without approving the Department’s proposal, proposed two different names of his choice for appointment of Pro-VC in Burdwan university without following the provisions of the West Bengal Universities Rules, 2019” read the state government’s notification.
As an independent media platform, we do not take advertisements from governments and corporate houses. It is you, our readers, who have supported us on our journey to do honest and unbiased journalism. Please contribute, so that we can continue to do the same in future.
