Prasun Kumar Rai

Acting vice-chancellor of Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar Bihar University, Muzaffarpur, Prasun Kumar Rai is in a fix to call a senate meeting for approving the varsity’s budget for 2013-14.

Teachers’ bodies and the senate members are putting pressure on him to convene the meeting at the earliest. However, the sword of his predecessors’ decisions seems to delay Rai’s action. The government has already reminded the varsity twice to furnish the budget for 2013-14 at the earliest.

In a twist of fate, two vice-chancellors of the varsity, appointed by then Governor Devanand Konwar, were shown the door after they had announced the date for the senate meeting. First, Bimal Kumar had called a meeting on January 24. The next VC — Kumaresh Prasad Singh — who stayed in office for less than two months was removed on order of the Supreme Court on March 18. He had announced March 23 as the date for the senate meeting.

Interim VC Rai joined the office of the VC in March. On Tuesday evening, a delegation of Bihar University Service Teachers’ Association headed by general secretary Arun Kumar Singh met Rai requesting him to convene the meeting.

Registrar A.P. Mishra said: “It is unfortunate that the university witnessed changes in the post of VC twice after the office came out with dates to hold the senate meeting.”

The syndicate and the finance committee of the university have approved the annual budget of Rs 794 crore for 2013-2014. Mishra said: “The university lacks the will power to get approval for the 2013-2014 budget by the senate. If it is delayed any further, there will certainly be a financial crunch at the university.”

Bihar University Service Teachers’ Association general secretary Arun Kumar Singh said: “The acting VC is caught in a fallacy of not committing to invite a meeting of the senate. Two previous VCs have been removed after they called a meeting of the senate. It is a coincidence and twist of fate.”