Academics demand withdrawal of ISI Bill 2025
– Mita Mukherjee
A group of academics and scientists in Kolkata demanded that the Indian Statistical Institute Bill, 2025 be withdrawn while holding a demonstration in front of the institute in Kolkata on Monday. Â
They want the central government Bill to be withdrawn as they said the proposal aims to “revamp” the Indian Statistical Institute and also curb its academic autonomy by tightening official control over its governing board and decisions such as fees, the academics said. Â
Founded in 1931 by statistician Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis in Kolkata, the ISI is a research and teaching institute with branches in Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai and Tezpur has been known for pioneering work in statistics, advancing planning, economics and computer science.
“The Indian Statistical Institute, established in 1931 by the eminent scientist Professor Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis, is today a self-governing internationally acclaimed scientific institution registered as a non-profit society under the West Bengal Society Registration Act of 1860. In 1959, the Central Government enacted legislation concerning this institution while retaining its existing system of governance. ….We are deeply concerned to note that the draft Indian Statistical Institute Bill, 2025 seeks to completely modify the administrative framework of this institution……… It now appears that there is an attempt to erase the legacy of the great personalities of India’s renaissance. It is our considered opinion that the Central Government’s move to pass this Bill is aimed at bringing under its direct control the very institution founded by such a luminary. We, therefore, strongly demand that the Indian Statistical Institute Bill, 2025 be withdrawn in its entirety,” Tarun Naskar, a former professor of Jadavpur University told EducationWorld.
The academics said that according to the provisions of the Bill, “the Board of Governance shall be the principal executive body of the Institute.” The chairperson and other members of the board are to be nominated by the central government. The Board will also include representatives from the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, the Department of Science and Technology and the Ministry of Finance who will function primarily under the directions of the central government. The director of the Institute will be a nominated, rather than an elected, position.
From these provisions, it is evident that the proposed structure leaves no scope for democratic functioning or institutional autonomy in the governance of the Institute. Since the members of the board would be government nominees, they would remain accountable primarily to the C central government rather than to the Institute’s academic community—its students, researchers, teachers, and staff. Such an arrangement gravely undermines the democratic ethos and academic freedom that are essential to institutions of higher learning, said Naskar who is also the general secretary of the All India Save Education Committee, an all India body of academics including vice-chancellors and teachers of colleges and universities.Â
The Union ministry of statistics and programme implementation has invited public feedback on the draft ISI Bill 2025 in prescribed proforma.
But the academics said the prescribed proforma will serve a meaningful purpose as the very framework of the Bill runs counter to democratic principles and institutional autonomy.
The academics submitted a memorandum to the minister of state (independent charge) of the Ministry of Education of Statistics and Programme Implementation through the director of ISI Kolkata.
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