Left Front fights for last higher education fief

Besu has broken the fetters but the Left Front is determined to keep its last remaining higher education fief, Jadavpur University, tethered to state control at the cost of progress.

Higher education secretary Satish Tiwary said on Tuesday that Writers’ Buildings wasn’t “officially” aware of any proposal to upgrade JU to a central university. “JU is Bengal’s property and cannot be converted to a central university without the state government’s permission. We have not been informed about any such proposal,” he told Metro.

“We will not allow JU to become a central university. We will fight till the end,” added a leader of the CPM-backed West Bengal College and University Teachers’ Association, referring to Pranab Mukherjee’s push for an upgrade.

Such a pledge, last heard when Presidency was in the throes of transition to autonomy, has come despite the prospect of a three-fold increase in grants for JU, fatter pay packets for its teachers and more job opportunities for students. The university presently receives an annual grant of approximately Rs 183 crore from the state and another Rs 25 crore from Delhi.

The Telegraph had reported on Tuesday about Union finance minister Mukherjee writing to his cabinet colleague, human resource development minister Kapil Sibal, with a request to consider upgrading JU to the status of a central university.

The reason for Delhi’s sudden interest in JU’s upgrade, of course, remains in the realm of speculation. The anti-CPM teachers’ lobby had distributed leaflets among faculty members last year highlighting how the “central” tag would benefit everyone. The teachers also met minister Mukherjee recently.

A traditional red bastion, JU is in Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee’s constituency and employs 800 teachers, nearly 1,500 non-teaching staff and over 40 senior administrators. The policy-making bodies are all packed with CPM members or Left Front supporters.

The university had been ranked among the country’s top five by the University Grants Commission six years ago and also accorded the highest grading of five stars by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council.

Last month, a five-member team headed by UGC vice-chairman Ved Prakash praised the institution for making remarkable progress in research in some areas.

“Given the consistent high ratings for various departments, the subject of upgrading JU to a central institute has been in the domain of discussions since 2003. But the Left Front has been playing spoilsport,” rued a senior professor. The first evidence of the state government’s stonewalling methods had come when the HRD ministry selected JU’s engineering wing for an upgrade to IIT status in 2003. After a series of fruitless discussions with the state authorities, Delhi was forced to drop the proposal in 2006. The state government’s clinching argument — excuse, in non-CPM parlance — was that the science and arts faculties of JU would suffer if only its engineering wing were to be upgraded.

Besu was recently cleared by Delhi for an upgrade to Institute of National Importance after years of indirect opposition from the Left Front.