– Mita Mukherjee

As many as 401 teachers of Jadavpur University on Wednesday wrote to state governor R.N. Ravi expressing concern over the West Bengal Universities and Colleges (Administration and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026, which has made provisions for transfer of teachers to any university within the state.

In the letter, the teachers requested the governor, who is also the ex-officio chancellor of all state-aided universities like JU, to ensure that the policy is withdrawn by the West Bengal government.

The bill was passed in the West Bengal State Assembly at a special session on September 10.

The letter, containing the signatures of 401 teachers and all members of the Jadavpur University Teachers’ Association (JUTA), said the bill is contrary to the principles of “natural justice” and the “academic ecosystem” would collapse if the new Act is implemented.

“Every university has its own specific laws and regulations governing its administration corresponding to the specific Act by which it was formed on the basis of which the university’s recruitment processes are conducted,” the teachers said.

Ignoring these established provisions and compelling teachers to work under an entirely new set of conditions would be “grossly illegal”, the letter said.

According to the teachers, no appointment letter to a university employee in West Bengal has ever mentioned the possibility of inter-university transfer and, therefore, no employee is legally bound to agree to such transfer or anything that contravenes the terms of service offered at the time of appointment.

“The bill is contrary to the principles of natural justice. If an employee joined a university considering its location, infrastructure and facilities, such transfer would deprive the employee of all the advantages that were considered at the time of application and joining,” they said.

Moreover, research will be heavily affected if the bill is put into effect. Jadavpur University has consistently enhanced its resources – buildings, laboratories, library and facilities – from the proceeds of major research grants.

“The large body of project personnel has notably enlarged the resource pool of the permanent faculty. This entire academic ecosystem would collapse if the new Act is implemented,” the teachers said.

The JU teachers demanded withdrawal of the new law, saying it is also not compatible with the legal provisions related to the Provident Fund of Jadavpur University.

Most importantly, the teachers said they apprehended that the provisions are likely to be used deliberately to punish teachers and non-teaching staff who criticise government policies.

The state government had earlier said that the main purpose of passing the bill is to ensure that new universities where there is lack of infrastructure and teachers can share the expertise of experienced teachers of reputable universities.

The teachers said they were not against the proposition that low-ranked universities or universities with meagre infrastructure should be helped using the teaching expertise of teachers of other universities.

“But we believe that can be ensured by short-stay assignments lasting a couple of weeks or a month…..The newly introduced policy of transferring teachers from highly-ranked esteemed universities would weaken the public education system in general and thus pave the way for further privatisation of higher education in our state,” the teachers said.

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