Education Ministry team lands in crisis-hit Tezpur University – with a protest to welcome them

The team met staff and student representatives, and representative bodies presented them with memoranda already submitted to the ministry reiterating their grievances and demands. However, after the meeting, which continued into the night, hundreds of students staged a sit-in on the road, raising slogans and blocking the MOE team’s passage out of the university premises. As of 10:15 pm Saturday, the blockade was still ongoing.

This meeting took place after a series of events culminating in senior Tezpur University professor Dhruba Kumar Bhattacharyya “assuming charge” as acting vice-chancellor of the institute. VC Shambhu Nath Singh, who has not been on campus since protests began late September, convened an emergency Board of Management (BOM) meeting Thursday afternoon.

The meeting, attended only by external BOM members, resolved to appoint professor Joya Chakraborty as Pro-VC to take charge in his absence.

However, this was met with resistance from protesters, and Chakraborty reportedly communicated that she would not accept the position. Instead, the registrar communicated to the ministry that Bhattacharyya has assumed charge as Acting VC in the absence of both the VC and a Pro-VC.

A member of the Tezpur University Teachers’ Association said the ministry team pushed for a Pro-VC to take charge and that the position be taken by Chakraborty as decided by the BOM.

However, the protesters objected to this on the grounds that this was a decision taken under the VC’s leadership. A student who is part of the Tezpur University Students’ Fraternity and attended the meeting said: “The team has not given any firm resolution and are still keeping us hanging. They have said that they will try to convene a visitorial committee enquiry. But no written assurance has been given”.

Two fact-finding committees, one constituted by the state Governor and another by the ministry, have already visited the campus.

Education secretary Vineet Joshi was unavailable for comment. However, according to sources, the ministry delegation was sent to hear grievances and assess the situation on ground. The Centre, it is learned, may institute an inquiry into the allegations faced by the vice-chancellor.

Tezpur University – one of only two Central Universities in Assam – has been witnessing protests against the V-C for over two months, and last week, staff and students declared a shutdown of academic and administrative activities, with the students and staff accusing Singh of financial irregularities and prolonged absence from the university, leading to “administrative stagnation”, disrepair of campus infrastructure, and disruption of academic processes.

In a statement issued on Saturday night, the “students’ fraternity” declared that it would intensify its protest.

“Students, faculty, and stakeholders express deep disappointment that even after 79 consecutive days of peaceful protest, the visiting team has not communicated any concrete resolution or actionable assurance regarding the long-standing demands placed before the authorities,” the statement said.

It further said: “In response to this continued inaction, the students have formally announced a complete and indefinite closure of all academic and administrative activities within the University premises. This decision, they emphasise, is not one taken lightly but is a reflection of their growing frustration and disillusionment with the absence of meaningful intervention”.

(With ENS inputs)