The state education department has requested information from the Supreme Court-appointed search committee about the procedures required to appoint full-term vice-chancellors at the three state-aided universities — Maulana Abul Kalam Azad University, Netaji Subhas Open University and North Bengal University.

The search committee last month appointed full-term vice-chancellors in the eight state-aided universities. However, it could not select names for these three universities due to a difference of opinion between Bengal governor C.V. Ananda Bose and chief minister Mamata Banerjee.

The Supreme Court, in its order, had asked the search committee chairperson either to initiate a fresh selection process in the three universities or “recommend a fresh panel from among the existing candidates”.

The Supreme Court’s January 16 order said: “It seems the parties have divergent opinions concerning the recommendations or inter-se merit of the candidates recommended for these three universities.”

“We request the search-cum-selection committee headed by Justice U.U. Lalit to endeavour to take an appropriate decision within a period of four weeks,” the order stated.

“We have asked the selection committee chairperson which of the two options he will choose. The administrative and academic activities in these three universities have come to a standstill due to the absence of VCs,” said an education department official.

“We want to proceed according to the advice. This cannot be kept pending for long,” the official said.

When contacted, U.U. Lalit, a former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, told Metro: “The decision will be notified by the state government, which is the executing
body”.

Among the three universities, Netaji Subhas Open University and North Bengal University do not have any officiating or interim VCs.

Maulana Abul Kalam Azad University of Technology has an officiating VC who was appointed by the governor in his capacity as the chancellor of the state-aided universities, allegedly without consulting the education department. All government and private engineering colleges in the state are affiliated with Maulana Abul Kalam Azad University of Technology.

North Bengal University has been functioning without a VC since October 2023.

“After my tenure ended in March 2023, the chancellor appointed three officiating VCs. Since the last officiating VC left in October 2023, no one has been appointed, even in an interim capacity. This has triggered a stalemate on the campus,” said Omprakash Mishra, a former interim VC of the university who served till May 2023.

Netaji Subhas Open University has been functioning without a VC since last September.

The teaching and non-teaching staff of the university recently staged a protest on the campus over the absence of the VC.

Maulana Abul Kalam Azad University of Technology has an officiating VC.

The education department barred him from taking any major policy decision,” said an official of the university.