The senior-most faculty member of Tezpur University, Dhruba Kumar Bhattacharyya, assumed charge as the acting vice-chancellor on Thursday night amid ongoing protest by students and staff of the varsity seeking the removal of the incumbent VC over allegations of corruption and mismanagement.
The protest continued on Friday.
Bhattacharyya, from the department of computer science and engineering, informed the Union ministry of education of the development through a letter that he assumed charge as the acting vice-chancellor with effect from Thursday under Statue 2 (6) of the Second Schedule of the Tezpur University “to bring normalcy to the campus”.
The letter cited the “long absence” of vice-chancellor Singh, “non-functioning” of the VC’s office and the “current situation” prevailing on the campus for his decision to assume the charge.
The campus has been in protest mode since September 21, when the authorities went ahead with regular classes and the student council elections amid state mourning over the death of singer-composer Zubeen Garg. The incumbent VC has not been seen on the campus since September 22.
What started as a protest for “showing disrespect” towards Garg saw the addition of charges of corruption and mismanagement against Singh and his loyalists. Since November 27, the administrative and academic functioning of the central university has come to a standstill.
Prior to Bhattacharyya taking charge, the incumbent VC had convened a meeting of the board of members (BoM) on Thursday, which reportedly appointed Prof Joya Chakraborty from the mass communication department as the pro-VC. Bhattacharya, however, did not accept the offered position.
The move was vehemently opposed by the university students and teachers on “grounds of procedural violations”. They also asserted that their key demands were the removal of the current VC, a high-level inquiry covering his tenure, and the appointment of an acting VC instead of a pro-VC — a permanent appointment.
According to regulations, the agenda of any BoM meeting must be finalised and circulated 21 days in advance, university sources said. However, the agenda for Thursday’s meeting was neither pre-decided nor notified in the required timeframe.
Moreover, the BoM — mandated to comprise 16 members — saw the participation of only five, with several permanent members not even invited. The absence of any internal member of Tezpur University further underscores the opaque and arbitrary nature of the proceedings, a source said.
Sources said that when Prof Joya Chakraborty didn’t accept the position offered, the university fraternity “collectively” approached Prof Bhattacharyya to assume the charge of the acting vice-chancellor as per the statute.
“This marks a significant development… However, our primary demand is a Supreme Court level enquiry against Prof Shambhu Nath Singh and his suspension till the results are out. Our protest will continue,” a student said.