Tezpur varsity imbroglio: Senior-most faculty member assumes suo motu charge as acting VC

Tezpur (Assam), Dec 5 (PTI) In a dramatic turn of events at Tezpur University, which has been under complete shutdown for last seven days, the senior-most faculty member assumed charge as acting vice chancellor in a suo-motu move early on Friday.

The situation started changing rapidly after VC Shambhu Nath Singh, against whom the entire agitation has been taking place since mid-September, called for a Board of Management (BOM) meeting on Thursday afternoon and subsequently appointed Mass Communication professor Joya Chakraborty as the pro-VC.

Chakraborty refused to accept the role, and the Tezpur University United Forum (TUUF), which has been spreading the agitation, decided to continue its indefinite shutdown of the central varsity in Assam's Sonitpur district.

The shutdown started on November 29.

The protesters have been demanding the removal of Singh over corruption charges.

In late-night developments, the entire university community came together and decided to apply the Tezpur University Act, 1993, suo motu, a senior professor said.

Accordingly, the central university's senior-most faculty member Dhruba Kumar Bhattacharyya assumed charge as the acting VC with immediate effect, he said.

Bhattacharyya, a professor of Computer Science and Engineering, then wrote to the secretary of the higher education department of the Union Ministry of Education, and apprised him of the latest development, citing the relevant clauses of the Act.

PTI has accessed all the documents and letters exchanged since the BOM meeting on Thursday.

"We were waiting for something positive from the ministry during the protest period, but it remained a mute spectator. In fact, the authorities got involved in an ugly game in collusion with VC Singh and appointed a pro-VC yesterday," a senior professor alleged while talking to PTI.

The university fraternity is not ready to accept anything other than the removal of Singh, and as he has been an absentee from the campus for almost three months, an acting VC took charge as per the Act, the faculty member said.

An agitating student said the protest and the 'shutdown' will continue unless an enquiry into the alleged corruption and other forms of irregularities by the VC is ordered.

The students of Tezpur University have shut down all services, including all forms of academic activities, on the campus for an indefinite period since November 29, forcing the administration to cancel all end-term examinations.

The Tezpur University Teachers' Association (TUTA) and Tezpur University Non-Teaching Employees' Association (TUNTEA) have extended their full support to the agitation, being carried out under the aegis of Tezpur University United Forum (TUUF).

The university became non-functional for the last seven days.

The VC abstained from the campus after the university had witnessed noisy scenes and an exchange of words between him and students on September 22, leading to a situation where Singh had to leave the spot.

At least 11 faculty members and senior officials have either resigned from their posts or the university itself since the protests began in September.

The protesters assert that the evidence submitted by stakeholders leaves no room for delay in conducting an enquiry and that allowing Singh to continue in his position undermines institutional integrity.

The situation at Tezpur University had been tense since mid-September, with students accusing the VC and varsity authorities of not showing due respect to cultural icon Zubeen Garg even as the state was mourning his death.

The Sonitpur District Administration later ordered a magisterial probe against the Tezpur University authority for allegedly disrespecting Garg.

A fact-finding committee, formed by the Assam governor to look into allegations concerning the functioning of the vice chancellor, also visited the varsity to enquire into the matter.

Due to the indefinite shutdown, the TU administration cancelled the upcoming end-of-term examinations and announced that these will be rescheduled to ensure that students are not academically disadvantaged.

This is the first instance in the history of the central university that academic schedules have been formally altered due to a student-led protest against an administrative head.

Apart from fiscal irregularities, the varsity staffers are also protesting against the alleged deforestation and ecological destruction carried out under Singh's administration.

During his tenure, Singh reportedly ordered the felling of several important trees and bamboo patches, including yellow bamboo -- an essential part of the campus landscape, under the guise of 'beautification'.

He also initiated extensive grass planting activities across the campus, which many members of the university community termed as environmentally unsound and superficial, especially in a tropical region like northeast India. PTI TR TR BDC