Longer wait for Presi varsity status

Updated on: Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Kolkata: It will take some more time before Presidency College takes the giant leap to become a university, overcoming years of resistance. The much debated and awaited Presidency College Bill was tabled before the state Assembly on Tuesday and referred to the standing committee. With only two more days left in the winter session, it is unlikely that the bill will be debated and passed this session. Once passed, Presidency will become a unitary, state university.

State higher education minister Sudarshan Roychowdhury chose to clear the air on the state’s position on the issue. He said the government has been toying with the idea of making Presidency a varsity for the last three years and was in the process of negotiations with UGC. The higher education department fell back on Besu’s road to becoming a university and other institutes. Among other things, Presidency will also have to look for land to expand its campus. The committee is likely to submit its recommendations by the end of next session.
Chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee’s public declaration of the government’s intention to grant Presidency College university status had led to a wide public debate with leading educationists lauding the effort, despite the presence of some naysayers.

The higher education minister admitted to the confusion generated amongst a section of the staff, who were opposed to the idea. “The expert committee formed in 2006 had taken into consideration views of all involved. It had carefully weighed merits, demerits, facts and opinions before making its recommendation,” he said.

The question that has been foremost in the minds of the Presidency College staff is about their future in the university. “They have been given the choice of whether they want to stay in the university or go elsewhere. There is no existing separate Presidency cadre. This is true for teachers and non-teaching staff, including group-IV employees. All of them can be considered for selection. Teachers from other government colleges and institutions are also free to apply and can be selected,” Roychowdhury said.

The minister said the bill has provision for creating “supernumerary posts” for the employees who don’t get selected after opting for Presidency University.

“We had certain doubts about autonomy. But the government never opposed it. We did not want autonomy for the sake of autonomy,” Roychowdhury said.

The minister said the college principal had informed the higher education department about the need for university status to implement certain decisions. “On November 3, the governing body passed a resolution for state university. The government was informed on November 5,” he said.

The minister didn’t agree with the CPM-backed Government College Teachers Association’s reservation on the unitary university status. “Bringing several colleges under one umbrella is not decentralisation. Creating a unitary university is not privatisation,” he said.

Longer wait for Presi varsity status

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