Baishali Mukherjee

West Bengal Department of Higher Education has formed a eight member committee to decide whether the state will accept the draft proposal prepared by the University Grants Commission (UGC) regarding the recruitment of teachers and non-teaching staff in colleges and universities. The committee, comprising professors from various universities, was constituted on January 20 and is expected to submit its report by January 31.

The UGC had set February 5 as the deadline for states to provide their feedback on the draft. Consequently, the committee was formed on an urgent basis. Debnarayan Bandyopadhyay, an advisor to the West Bengal Higher Education Council, has been appointed as the committee’s chairman, while Shiladitya Chakraborty, a legal officer from the Department of Higher Education, will serve as the convenor. Other members include Nimai Chandra Saha (former Vice-Chancellor of Burdwan University), Dipak Kar (Chairman of the West Bengal College Service Commission), Omprakash Mishra (Professor, Jadavpur University), Sabuj Kumar Choudhury (Professor, University of Calcutta), Sauren Bandyopadhyay (Vice-Chancellor, West Bengal State University), and Debjyoti Konar (Registrar, Presidency University).

Recently, the UGC announced significant changes in the recruitment process for teachers and vice-chancellors in colleges and universities, which included enhancing the powers of the Chancellor (the Governor). This has been opposed by states like West Bengal and Kerala, who accuse the UGC of attempting to centralize control and saffronize education by stripping states of their autonomy.

The draft specifies that teacher recruitment will now prioritize candidates’ qualifications in UGC NET, SET, and PhD, allowing candidates to apply even if their postgraduate degrees are in unrelated subjects. Additionally, proposed changes in the eligibility criteria for vice-chancellors include considering professionals, industrialists, and private sector executives—essentially, “non-academics”—for these positions.

The UGC’s draft has sparked widespread debate. However, UGC Chairman M. Jagadesh Kumar recently defended the proposal, stating, “The scope of education has significantly expanded. Distinguished individuals from various fields are setting examples, so this decision is inclusive. Our primary aim is to address the shortage of teachers in universities through vice-chancellor appointments and to position state universities on a global platform for research excellence.”

Also read: Kerala and Tamil Nadu demand withdrawal of draft UGC Guidelines 2025