Assuring that the Education Bill will be tabled in the Budget Session of the West Bengal Assembly, state Education minister Partha Chatterjee on Monday said that under no circumstance would the autonomy of colleges in the state be taken away.
The Minister, however, added a caveat that "in the name of autonomy no indiscipline will be tolerated," adding that as the "state government is giving the salaries of the teachers and other teaching and non-teaching staff, it has every right to see how the colleges are being run."
Chatterjee, however, did not mention when the Bill would be tabled. The Bill was scheduled to have been placed before the Assembly during the Winter Session in 2016. However, it was not tabled in view of stiff resistance from the Opposition.
The Opposition had alleged that through the Bill the state government was trying to exercise control over the colleges.
The Opposition argued that if the autonomy of the colleges was taken away then the quality of education would fall.
Chatterjee said the state government was committed to improve the quality of education. "By allowing the colleges to function in their own way, we are not producing another Jagadish Chandra Bose or Amartya Sen. The steps that the Education department will propose in the Bill will help improve the quality of education."
The Education minister said in many cases the governing body of different colleges were functioning arbitrarily and in the group D staff category sometimes 30 to 34 people were given jobs. "All the recruits are relatives of the governing body members. This will no longer be tolerated," Chatterjee said.
He further said that doors for discussion was always open. "I invite open discussion but consensus should be arrived at to run the educational institutions properly," Chatterjee said.
The Minister said he had met Jaya Dutta, state Trinamool Chatra Parishad president, and two groups of students who have won the Calcutta University Students' Union election. He said he had asked them not to create any trouble and maintain peace inside the University campus.
The Education department will give the names of the office bearers of the students' union to the Vice-Chancellor in a sealed envelope and "everyone will have to accept them," Chatterjee said, adding that "the government will not tolerate any indiscipline in colleges and universities."