Page 18 - EducationWorld Oct 2021

Education News

In the circumstances, the Maha- Continuous discontent on the
rashtra state government’s best op- sylvan 1,130-acre VBU campus in
tion is to accept NEET and upgrade Santiniketan, which includes three
state board schools. Or wait and villages and several residential en-
watch. claves for former and current faculty,
Dipta Joshi (Mumbai) since Chakrabarty was appointed vice
chancellor in November, has hurt
WEST BENGAL the reputation of this Central gov-
Despondent ernment-funded university. In the
annual National Institutional Rank-
centenary ing Framework (NIRF) of the Union
education ministry published on Sep-
tember 9, VBU suffered its steepest
he turmoil in visva-bharati Uni- decline since the ministry’s rankings
versity (VBU, estb.1921), estab- framework was instituted in 2015.
Tlished by Nobel laureate, sage, From #11 in 2016, its rank slipped to
savant and litterateur Rabindranath #50 in 2020 and further to #64 in the
Tagore, shows no signs of simmering league table of Top 100 universities.
down despite this being its centenary In the overall category which ranks
year — a time for celebration. Top 100 higher education institu-
On September 15, the Calcutta tions including engineering, medical
high court set aside a three-year rus- and other colleges, VBU is ranked #97.
tication order issued on August 23 by In the annual EducationWorld India tacharyya, professor of economics
controversial vice chancellor Bidyut Higher Education Rankings 2021-22 at the university and president of
Chakrabarty against three students. which rank private and government the VBU Faculty Association, whose
The court ordered that Phalguni Pan, universities separately, VBU is ranked six months suspension on the flimsy
a student in the economics and poli- a more respectable #25 among Top charge of ‘maligning’ the university
tics department, would rejoin classes 150 government universities. was extended by another month on
this month (October); Somnath Shaw, Senior faculty overwhelmingly September 9: “The public image of
a student of economics, has been al- blame Chakrabarty — an alum of the VBU has taken a hit because the VC
lowed to clear his semester backlog London School of Economics who is trying to rule with an iron hand.
in December 2021 or early January taught at Delhi University for 20 years Another factor is the poor teacher-
2022, and Rupa Chakrabortty, a Hin- prior to being appointed vice chancel- student ratio — hardly any faculty ap-
dustani classical music student, has lor three years ago — for VBU’s steep pointments have been made in recent
been permitted to take internal ex- reputational fall. According to the years.”
aminations in December 2021 or early Visva-Bharati University Faculty lienated students, angry faculty,
January next year. Association, 11 faculty and 11 non- Arestive campus residents, ash-
While passing this verdict, Justice teaching staff have been suspended, ramites and traditionalists are de-
Rajasekhar Mantha also had a word of with termination orders served on spondent that in its centenary year
caution for vice chancellor Chakrab- two professors (including a former of- already marred by 18 months of Cov-
arty and the university’s management. ficiating vice chancellor, who was dis- id-19 lockdown, this widely venerated
“Unnecessary confrontation should be missed a day before her retirement), university is mired in unrest and has
avoided. It is expected that the vice and over 150 employees have been is- become a shadow of its once great self.
chancellor will follow the order in sued show-cause notices. Also, for the Comments Dr. Shantabhanu Sen,
letter and spirit,” the court observed. first time ever, a gag order was issued an alumnus of VBU and sibling of No-
Simultaneously, the court directed on January 30, 2020 on all employees bel laureate Amartya Sen: “VBU has
the university to “review” suspension except for the PRO, from giving media ceased to be what Tagore imagined.
orders it has given against 60-70 fac- bytes or interviews. There is no space for debate or delib-
ulty and employees within 15 days. Yet Chakrabarty, the man at the eration. It’s highly regrettable that the
Moreover, while passing the order, the centre of the storm, is silent. At a VC is acting like an RSS agent intent
court was also “compelled” to advise press conference organised by VBU on on saffronising VBU.”
the vice chancellor and varsity man- September 17, he was conspicuously It’s a tragedy indeed that VBU, es-
agement to adopt “convivial and in- absent and has consistently refused tablished by Gurudev Tagore with re-
clusive approach” in transacting with media interviews. solve to evolve into a haven of peace-
institutional stakeholders. Comments Prof. Sudipta Bhat- ful scholarship and an example to the

18 EDUCATIONWORLD OCTOBER 2021