News Analysis India

Tag: JUTA

  • Jadavpur University teachers’ body slams West Bengal government for not allowing online interview

    By PTI
    KOLKATA: Jadavpur University Teachers Association (JUTA) on Friday slammed the decision of West Bengal Higher Education department to turn down the request of the premier state university to allow it admit students to science stream on the basis of online interview/discussions.

    The Jadavpur university authorities last week had sent a proposal to the department to allow it to conduct admission to the science stream on the basis of marks awarded in the higher secondary examination as well as assessment made by the faculty on the basis of online interview/discussion with the students on 80:20 ratio.

    However, in its reply on Thursday, the higher education department said “with reference to your letter dated 23.07.21…I am directed to request you to follow the existing norms”, indicating the earlier direction to the state universities not to conduct any admission test in any format for UG and PG courses.

    JU Pro-Vice Chancellor Chiranjib Bhattacharya said, “We are yet to decide on the modalities after the higher education department reply. We will take a decision very soon.” JUTA, the representative body of JU faculty, said the move will severely compromise the high academic standard set by JU and an affront on the functional autonomy of the august institution.

    “Due to the COVID-19 restrictions we cannot organise any demonstration at the campus at present, but we will certainly chalk out other forms of protest soon,” JUTA general secretary Partha Pratim Roy said. “While private universities will be able to screen their students through their admission procedures, only state universities are singled out and their autonomy interfered with,” he said.

    The university had last week decided if the 80:20 ratio formula for undergraduate (UG) admission (80 per cent weightage to higher secondary marks and 20 per cent weightage to online interview/ discussion assessment) to science stream was allowed, similar criteria will be used for arts stream.

    Roy also regretted that the state higher education department is yet to formulate any stand on the recent UGC guidelines to the universities about ways to conduct the semester exams which were already conducted in June by many universities.

    “While the higher education department is too eager to stipulate the admission criteria of state universities, it is yet to take a call on the last UGC communication to universities in July about ways to hold semester exams, which has totally confused students and teachers at the same time where semester exams had been held in June already,” he said.

  • Teachers associations of JU express concern over ‘series of incidents’ in varsity

    By PTI
    KOLKATA: Three teachers associations of Jadavpur University in a joint letter to Vice-Chancellor Prof Suranjan Das have voiced concern over “series of incidents” in the varsity over the delayed publication of results and the delay in admission of students in the current academic session.

    The Jadavpur University Teachers’ Association (JUTA), All Bengal University Teachers’ Association (JU chapter) and West Bengal College and University Teachers’ Association in a joint letter to Das said any attempt of confinement of association members or any harassment of teachers should be firmly dealt with zero tolerance.

    “Teachers of the university have put their best efforts for the publication of results in the best interest of students, even during the pandemic period, but they will not discharge any further duty under pressure in future.

    In the recent past, many teacher members who attended meetings of academic bodies were confined in such meeting till late into the night.

    In this backdrop we urge the administration to ensure and limit the duration of meetings to a durable span of time,” the letter said.

    “We strongly believe in academic autonomy and internal democracy and we strongly feel that the democratic right of a section cannot curb the democratic right of others.

    Any problem within the university framework should be solved in the spirit of deliberation and discussion,” the letter said.

    The teacher bodies asked the varsity authorities to take necessary action in consultation with respective faculty councils and examination committee to hold the exams which could not take place in the scheduled time due to the pandemic crisis and felt the claims and objections raised by students “need to be redressed within a stipulated time so that their recurring impact can be avoided.

    ” About the exam procedure, the three teachers’ bodies said all confidential data about examination must be kept in the custody of Controller of Examinations and “any third party who may be assigned by the university to develop software/data analysis must work under the supervision of the controller of exams.Appropriate mechanism for better coordination between the JUMS team and the Controller of Exams have to be in place for quick and error-free result publication.

    ” Observing the democratic functions of all statutory academic bodies is the need of the hour, the three teacher bodies representing all the teachers of the university, said: “we feel any kind of dilution in evaluation of students and result publication will affect the academic reputation of the university.

    ” The organisations said the absence of new university statute, which is due since 2013, has made the university system more centralized and less democratic which is also one of the contributing factor behind the present situation.

    “We feel the delay in holding exams and the publication of faulty results is largely due to the non- functional state of affairs in the examination section of the university,” the teachers bodies said.

    The letter was signed by JUTA spokesman Partha Pratim Roy, Goutam Maity from ABUTA and Rajyeswar Sinha from WBCUTA.

    On December 29, the Dean of Faculty of Engineering and Technology, Jadavpur University, Amitava Datta resigned from the post, 20 days after taking over charge due to some personal reasons and health issues.

    Earlier in December the Dean (interim) Science, Professor Subir Mukhopadhyay resigned from the post alleging humiliation by the students’ union.

    In successive weeks of December, a section of students of engineering and technology faculty had gheraoed the VC, Pro-VC and other top officials for around 12 hours on the issue of comprehensive, total publication of final semester results after 11 months and taking the students into confidence in the entire process.

    No university official was available for comments.