CU syndicate temporarily removes Bengali dept head

Kolkata: The Calcutta University (CU) syndicate on Monday temporarily removed head of the Bengali department, Sanat Kumar Naskar, for his alleged involvement in encouraging the students to join tuition classes of his own close relative.

The syndicate also constituted a fact finding committee with Dean of Arts Dipa Basu as the chairperson and registrar of CU Rajagopal Dhar Chakraborty as the convenor that has been directed to submit its report within 15 days.

"We have removed the head of the Bengali department temporarily and have formed a fact finding committee that will examine the alleged irregularities levelled against him by some teachers and students of his department. The committee will submit its report within 15 days. He will also not be associated with the examination process. Dean of Arts will be the interim head," Sonali Chakravarti Banerjee, Vice Chancellor of CU said.

The CU syndicate will again sit for a meeting after the committee tables its report and will accordingly take its decision on the fate of Naskar.

Sources in the university said that Naskar and his close relative have been providing private tuitions although the rules of the university does not allow a person associated with the examination process to do private tuitions.

Naskar has admitted that his close relative has been providing private tuitions but denied that he himself does so.

Professors of CU's Bengali department had withdrawn their names from the examination process, protesting against the HoD's alleged involvement in encouraging the students to join tuition classes of his close relative.

In a recent departmental meeting, several teachers of the department raised the issue that students had been staying away from classes and instead attending coaching centres conducted by the close relative of the HoD with his active participation. They had demanded, that the HoD, should exempt himself from the examination process altogether as students are of the impression that studying in that tuition will fetch them more marks as question papers are being given out there.

Students had claimed that there was no point in coming to classes if they get all the question papers in the tuition itself and have raised questions over transparency and impartiality.

Previously, the Bengali department had been in the news for irregularities regarding PhD sanctions and allowing dis-collegiate students to sit for examinations attendance monitoring.

Naskar was also present in the meeting on Monday for the issue of PhD sanction but refused to comment.

"We are yet to reach a consensus over alleged irregularities of PhD sanctions," Banerjee told reporters after the meeting.

Naskar, however, labelled the allegations as a conspiracy and said that he was not provided the opportunity to clarify his standpoint.