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HomeIndiaBengal govt asks CU to alter exam date clashing with TMCP rally;...

Bengal govt asks CU to alter exam date clashing with TMCP rally; VC says won’t succumb to pressure

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Kolkata, Aug 1 (PTI) Calcutta University’s officiating VC, Santa Dutta, said on Friday that she received an official communication from the West Bengal government urging the institution to reschedule its undergraduate law semester exam date on August 28 since it clashed with the foundation day of the Trinamool Congress Chhatra Parishad, the students’ wing of the state’s ruling party.

The development, seen as unprecedented and a direct attempt by the government to promote the interests of a particular political group, took place amid the ongoing row over CU authorities refusing to budge to alleged verbal pressures for a change of exam date from multiple corners of the ruling dispensation.

The higher education department’s letter, signed by a senior special secretary, justified its “request” stating that the rescheduling will be “in the interest of a large section of candidates”.

According to the CU exam fixture, the BCom semester-4 and BA-LLB semester-4 exams are scheduled on that date from 2 pm-5 pm, at around the same time when the TMCP foundation day rally takes place in central Kolkata.

Asserting that there is no possibility of her altering the scheduled exam date “under duress”, Dutta said, “The decision is not mine to take. I will call an emergency meeting of the University Syndicate soon so that we can take a collective decision on this. I have neither said ‘yes’ to the request, nor said ‘no’.” Dutta, who was appointed as the officiating VC by Governor C V Ananda Bose in 2023, told reporters that she was issued a letter earlier in the day which asked her “to reschedule the exam date as it falls on the same date of August 28, which is the foundation date of Trinamool Chhatra Parishad and hurt the sentiments of students.” The VC questioned how “such a letter could be issued by the state government to openly favour a certain political party”, and asserted that it undermined the functional autonomy of the 168-year-old state-run institution.

“The exam schedule was prepared much in advance keeping in mind all the registered government holidays, and that does not include August 28. Numerous other factors are taken into consideration while fixing exam dates for a large institution like ours,” said Dutta, who heads CU that has 151 affiliated UG colleges and 16 institutes in Kolkata and adjacent areas.

“Any change in the fixture will have a domino effect on the rest of the schedule,” she added.

Dutta has allegedly remained at the receiving end of the TMCP’s ire in the past few days after her rigidity to stick to the original schedule led to students’ agitations and submission of memoranda.

“This is a pathetic mix of politics and governance. The two are supposed to stay apart. The letter came after all attempts by the ruling party’s student wing to alter the dates failed, despite their coercive move to gherao me and threaten my staff and faculty,” she said, and asked what should gain precedence – governance and academic activities or political programmes.

Dutta had taken over after CU’s full-time VC Sonali Chakraborty Banerjee left, following allegations of illegalities in her appointment by the state government.

Ruing that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee or Education minister Bratya Basu “could not rise above political considerations and pressure tactics of their student wing,” Dutta said, “I would have been happier if she had told the TMCP student leaders not to make it a prestige issue in the interest of lakhs of candidates. That would have bolstered the image of the ruling dispensation ahead of the 2026 assembly polls.

Senior academic and CU syndicate member Om Prakash Mishra said he wasn’t aware of any decision to call an emergency meeting so far.

“From what I understand, the foundation day in question is fixed and declared much in advance, years ago. The exam date could have been changed at the outset by the university committee, which decides on the matter,” Mishra said.

This should not be an ego issue and, in the interest of students, there should be an amicable settlement without affecting other exam dates, he added.

TMCP’s state unit president, Trinankur Bhattacharya, accused Dutta of working at the behest of the saffron camp.

“This is not a simple academic decision,” he said, “The VC must abide by the higher education department’s directive. She is not above the institution and or the system.” Alleging that this was a political move by the university administration and the VC, whose appointment had been made at the bidding of the BJP, Bhattacharya argued that the exams were timed to embarrass the TMCP and prevent its supporters from attending the foundation day rally.

“Not just TMCP supporters, but thousands of candidates will appear for the exams at different centres affiliated to CU on that day. There will be rallies in the city which could cause traffic disruption. Is she not concerned about the ordinary examinees?” he asked. PTI SUS SMY NN

This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.

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