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Ending a long impasse over appointments in higher education, West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose on Wednesday approved the appointment of vice-chancellors (VCs) for six state universities. The decision follows the Supreme Court’s October 6 ruling allowing the state government and Raj Bhavan to move forward with the appointments after reaching a consensus on the names. A senior Raj Bhavan official confirmed that Prof Abu Taleb Khan has been appointed as the Vice-Chancellor of Biswa Bangla Biswavidyalaya, while Prof Chandradipa Ghosh will take charge at Sadhu Ramchand Murmu University, Jhargram. The higher education department also issued formal orders for the appointments of full-term vice-chancellors at Calcutta University (CU) and Jadavpur University (JU). Ashutosh Ghosh, who previously served as the interim VC of Calcutta University between July 2016 and July 2017, has now been appointed to the top post permanently. The university had been without a full-time head for nearly three years. At Jadavpur University, which has been functioning without a permanent VC since mid-2023 and without even an interim head for the past seven months, Chiranjib Bhattacharjee, president of the West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education (WBCHSE), has been appointed as the new VC. An order issued by the education department stated: “The Supreme Court has approved the name of Chirajib Bhattacharjee as the VC of Jadavpur University. Now therefore in terms of the orders of the Supreme Court and in exercise of the powers conferred by Jadavpur University Act (1981)…. the chancellor is hereby pleased to appoint Chiranjib Bhattacharjee as the VC of Jadavpur University with effect from the date of joining for a period of four years….” Each appointment will take effect from the date of joining and remain valid for four years or until the incumbent attains the age of seventy, whichever is earlier. Speaking about his new role, Bhattacharjee said his immediate priorities would be to conduct the university’s annual convocation, scheduled for December 24, smoothly and to fill vacant administrative posts. The other appointments include Ashis Bhattacharjee as VC of the University of Gour Banga and Uday Bandyopadhyay as VC of Kazi Nazrul University. ALSO READ: NCERT Adds Ayurveda Chapters To Science Curriculum For Classes 6 To 8 State Education Minister Bratya Basu welcomed the development, posting on X: “Today, six state-aided universities got vice-chancellors who were the Chief Minister’s first choices. My heartfelt congratulations and best wishes to all of them.” The appointments come after months of tension between the state government and Raj Bhavan over the process of vice-chancellor selections. On October 27, the Governor met all six newly appointed VCs at Raj Bhavan in what officials described as a “positive” and “cordial” interaction, paving the way for the final approvals.
