The education department on Friday removed the higher secondary council president, Chiranjib Bhattacharjee, a move he called “unexpected “ and “unfortunate”.
Although Bhattacharjee’s tenure had been extended till August 31 by the department last November, the department on Friday afternoon appointed Partha Karmakar, the deputy secretary of the state primary education board, as the new West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education president.
Karmakar will assume charge on March 2.
The order on the removal of Bhattacharjee, who is also the vice-chancellor of Jadavpur University, came on a day when the examination of the theory paper of the semesterised higher secondary examination ended.
“On Friday, I expected a congratulatory message from the education department on the successful completion of the semesterised Plus-II board examination. Instead, I received a removal order. The order came between exams, as practical exams have not yet started.” The practical exams are scheduled from March 2 to March 23.
An education department official explained that Bhattacharjee was replaced because managing both the university and the council simultaneously was challenging, and he was expected to give full attention to JU.
“Removing the council president when the board exams is still on does not look good. I am upset with the decision,” Bhattacharjee said.