States » EastPosted at: Sep 20 2026 5:41PM


Eminent academics urge Gov not to approve inter-university transfer Bill

Kolkata, Sep 20 (UNI) A group of eminent academicians, including former vice-chancellors, professors and senior researchers, have urged West Bengal Governor R N Ravi not to give his assent to the West Bengal Universities and Colleges (Administration and Regulation) (Amendment) Bill, 2026, arguing that the proposed inter-university transfer of teaching and non-teaching staff would undermine academic autonomy and adversely affect research and teaching.
The Bill, passed by the West Bengal Assembly on September 10, seeks to empower the state government to facilitate the transfer of employees between state-aided universities.
The academics have raised both academic and procedural concerns over the legislation in a letter to the Governor.
Under the proposed amendment, the Chancellor, in consultation with the state government, can transfer staff between state-aided universities for administrative reasons.
Employees transferred to another university can retain their lien in their original institution or opt for permanent absorption in the new university.
The signatories argued that each university has its own academic structure, programmes and research priorities and appoints faculty accordingly.
Transferring teachers between institutions, they said, could disrupt teaching programmes, research projects and the balance of faculty in both universities.
They also pointed to the potential impact on research scholars, saying specialised faculty often attract students and are supported by laboratories and libraries developed around particular areas of expertise.
Their transfer could leave research students without adequate supervision while facilities at the original institution remain underused, the academics said.
The letter further warned that major research grants are often linked to the availability of identified principal investigators.
Interdisciplinary and multi-institutional projects could be particularly affected if key faculty members were transferred, they said.
The academics also highlighted vacancies in older universities, arguing that transferring their existing faculty would further weaken institutions that were already facing shortages of human and material resources.
They said newer universities should instead be strengthened through planned recruitment and adequate funding.
On academic autonomy, the academics wrote: “Any such move would spell the end of academic autonomy. All the universities would be brought under centralised administrative control. They could no longer develop freely, each according to its bent.”
They further argued that academic productivity could suffer if faculty members felt they no longer had control over their academic affairs.
The letter also raised legal and administrative questions over transferring employees appointed to posts that were originally non-transferable and the difficulties of reconciling different service conditions across universities.
Concluding their appeal, the academics wrote: “In short, it is our strong opinion that this change, if implemented, would severely affect the functioning of the older and more established universities without material benefit to the new ones.”
They urged the Governor to consider their concerns and “refrain from giving your consent to the bill”.
Among those who signed the letter are former Presidency University vice-chancellor Amita Chatterjee, former Calcutta University Palit Professor Amitava Raychaudhuri, former IIM Calcutta professor Anup Sinha, former NIT Durgapur director Anupam Basu, former vice-chancellors Ashok Ranjan Thakur and Sabyasachi Basu Ray Chaudhury, and several eminent academics including Partha Chatterjee, Partha P. Majumdar, Sabyasachi Bhattacharya, Sukanta Chaudhuri and Supriya Chaudhuri. UNI SAG SAS
Tags: #Eminent academics urge Gov not to approve inter-university transfer Bill
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