Kolkata: A group of 14 distinguished academics have raised strong objections to the West Bengal Universities and Colleges (Administration and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2006, passed by the state Assembly on September 10.
The new Bill seeks to add a new provision that will allow inter-university transfer of both teaching and non-teaching staff as and when required.
In a letter to Governor RN Ravi, who also serves as Chancellor of all state universities, the signatories warned that the Bill’s provision for inter‑university transfer of teachers would severely undermine academic productivity, research continuity and institutional autonomy.
The academics argued that each university is a distinct institution with its own programmes, faculty specialisations and infrastructure. Transferring staff across universities, they said, would “impair the structural balance of both institutions and hamper their teaching and research programmes.”
Concerns were also raised about ongoing research projects. The letter noted that specialised faculty attract research scholars and build laboratories and libraries tailored to their fields. If such faculty are moved, “young research students would be left without recourse” and resources could remain unused. Moreover, major research funding is often tied to specific faculty serving as principal investigators, meaning transfers could jeopardise interdisciplinary and multi‑institutional projects.
The letter stressed that newer universities should be developed through planned recruitment and adequate funding rather than sporadic transfers from established institutions. Many new universities, they pointed out, lack full‑time staff and infrastructure. “These needs must be met with due planning and sufficient funding, with extensive recruitment of permanent staff at all levels,” it stated.
The academics also urged the Governor to safeguard academic autonomy, warning that centralised administrative control would prevent universities from developing freely according to their strengths.
Among others, the signatories include Professor Emeritus Amita Chatterjee (Jadavpur University), Amitava Raychaudhuri (former Palit Professor of Physics, Calcutta University), Anup Sinha (former IIM Calcutta Economics Professor), Anupam Basu (Raja Ramanna Professor, Jadavpur University), Sabya Sachi Basu Ray Choudhury (former VC, Rabindra Bharati University), and Sabya Sachu Bhattacharya (former Director, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research).