Jadavpur University vice-chancellor Chiranjib Bhattacharjee has praised chief minister Suvendu Adhikari’s move to press for the “Institute of Eminence” (IoE) status for the institute at the NITI Aayog meeting in Delhi on June 12.
Bhattacharjee told Metro that the issue was taken up at the meeting attended by several chief ministers.
“The status eluded the university earlier because of the absence of adequate financial backing and coordination on policy issues,” he said.
Bhattacharjee wrote on Facebook that the BJP government had begun taking “active steps” to help JU secure the Institute of Eminence status, a move he said reflected the government’s commitment to higher education.
Days after the BJP came to power in Bengal, the VC wrote to the state government urging it to pursue the university’s case for the IoE tag.
He told this newspaper: “The IoE issue was raised at a meeting of the NITI Aayog. We are grateful to the chief minister for taking up the issue. In recent times, we wrote two letters to the state government... If JU gets the status, it will ensure an overall growth....”
The VC wrote on Facebook: “We, on behalf of Jadavpur University, are expressing our gratitude to chief minister Suvendu Adhikari and the state government led by him.... In the past, following absence of financial support and coordination in policy matters, the prospect of JU getting the Institute of Eminence could not be materialised....We hope the latest initiative will help us realise a dream that remained unfulfilled.”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi told a campaign meeting in Baruipur on April 24 that Jadavpur University was a seat of “anarchy” rather than learning, and seemed to suggest that JU needs “saving”.
The Prime Minister described the campus as a hotbed of “anti-national slogans.
The VC wrote on his Facebook page: “The university always believes in course correction, discipline, academic excellence and obligation to the nation.”
JU has been in contention for the IoE status since 2018.
JU had ranked seventh among 10 “public institutions” prepared by an empowered expert committee of the UGC in July 2018 for the tag of eminence. The status would have brought a grant of ₹1,000 crore over five years.
However, JU did not make the cut. In 2021, the Union government proposed that if the Bengal government contributed ₹250 crore, the Union education ministry would pay the remaining ₹750 crore and award the status.
The then Mamata Banerjee government had struck down the proposal, alleging that the Union was imposing conditions rather than granting the entire ₹1,000 crore.