A mandatory choice-based credit system (CBCS) exam of Burdwan University was postponed on Saturday and rescheduled to March 4 allegedly to facilitate a section of teachers to attend the general body meeting of the TMC-affiliated college teachers’ association at Jadavpur University.

University sources said the authorities postponed the exam following an appeal from the teacher-in-charge of a college in Burdwan.

However, sources claimed the appeal was made under pressure from a leader of the West Bengal College and University Professors’ Association (WBCUPA), who allegedly compelled the teacher-in-charge to seek rescheduling of the CBCS exam (general elective-I) for BA (general) fifth-semester students.

WBCUPA has denied the allegation.

According to university sources, the authorities of Vivekananda Mahavidyalaya, the Burdwan college, mailed the varsity seeking rescheduling of the exam, which needed many teachers as invigilators. Some teachers of the college, led by a senior WBCUPA leader, “urged” the teacher-in-charge to persuade the university authority to postpone the exam.

The university issued an order announcing the change of exam schedule, citing “unavoidable circumstances”.

A source said at least 40,000 students across 74 colleges affiliated to the university were affected by the change.

A senior teacher of a Hooghly college, affiliated to Burdwan University, could not remember an incident when exams were postponed to help some teachers attend an organisational meeting.

“This is shocking. Despite my proximity to the ruling party, I must say that in my over 25 years of teaching career, I cannot recollect a similar incident,” he said.

Arijit Chatterjee, registrar of Burdwan University, claimed ignorance of the actual reason for the postponement when asked to clarify the “unavoidable circumstances” stated in the notification by the controller of examinations, Anindya Jyoti Pal. "The university did not alter the schedule on its own but responded to an appeal from a college. The controller of examinations knows the exact reason,” Chatterjee told this newspaper.

The controller of examinations did not respond to calls from this correspondent.

Bhaskar Goswami, general secretary of the Burdwan University Teachers’ Association (BUTA) and a professor of economics, called the development “very unfortunate.” “There is nothing unusual in this, given that the state education minister Bratya Basu has urged college teachers to work for the ruling party...," Goswami said.

Usasi Ray Chaudhuri, SFI district secretary, East Burdwan, dubbed the postponement of the exam “shameful”.

However, professor and senior WBCUPA leader Shikha Dutta said the organisation’s meeting had nothing to do with rescheduling the exam. “I have no idea what prompted the university to change the exam date. As far as I know, none of our units made such a request,” she said.