Raiganj, Feb. 25: A group of teachers of the erstwhile Raiganj College has been on an indefinite dharna at the institution since Monday demanding absorption of 10 lecturers as faculty members of the newly-formed Raiganj University.

Around 20 lecturers are taking part in the demonstration, from 10am to 4pm daily, in shifts.

The agitating teachers claimed that although university vice-chancellor Anil Bhuimali had said the 50-odd college teachers would be absorbed, 10 lecturers hadn't been. They alleged that all other staff members had been appointed in the university.

"On February 16, a three-member team of the state higher education department led by Dipak Ranjan Mandal, vice-chancellor of Purulia's Sidhu Kanu Birsha University, visited Raiganj. They looked at the qualifications of 50-odd teachers of the former college and declared that around 40 of them fulfilled the University Grants Commission norms to be part of the varsity's faculty," said Debashis Das, an agitating teacher who has been taken in as faculty member.

"After the college was upgraded to university, all non-teaching staff members were absorbed," he added.

The university has around 60 sanctioned posts for teachers and recently, it had published advertisements seeking around 20 teachers.

Bhuimali didn't take calls.

Yesterday, around 15 teachers led by Biswas met university registrar Ajay Kumar Ghose in his office with the demand.

"The registrar told us he would discuss the matter with us tomorrow," Biswas said.

Chief minister Mamata Banerjee had declared the setting up of Raiganj University in 2014 and the institution started functioning officially on February 3, 2015. In April last year, Bhuimali, a teacher of economics at North Bengal University, took over as the university vice-chancellor.