Bengal Assembly to consider state university transfer bill

A bill proposing the transfer of teachers and non-teaching employees between state-run universities in West Bengal is set to be introduced and passed during a one-day special session of the assembly on Thursday.

The West Bengal Universities and Colleges Administration and Regulation (Amendment) Bill, 2026, is intended to advance the state’s “one state, one education” policy. Cleared by the state cabinet, the legislation will be sent to the governor for assent after its passage in the House.

Under the proposed framework, experienced teachers and other employees serving at older universities in Kolkata and major cities could be transferred to newer state-run institutions.

“The bill proposes to transfer those who have taught for a long time in old state-run universities in Kolkata or other big cities to new universities henceforth. This policy is also effective for educational workers attached to different state-run universities,” an official from the Higher Education Department said.

The proposed transfer policy has, however, raised concerns within academic circles over the autonomy of universities and whether such transfers would require the consent of employees.

A Jadavpur University professor, who did not wish to be identified, pointed out that employees of state-run universities were not directly employed by the government. Questions over whether transfers would be voluntary or determined by the state would become clearer once the legislation was presented in the Assembly, the professor said.

The bill also proposes shifting Aliah University from the Minority Affairs and Madrasah Education Department to the Higher Education Department.

The Aliah University Act was passed in 2007, during the Left Front government led by Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, and came into force on 5 April 2008.

The state administration has described the proposed changes as an effort to distribute experienced personnel more evenly across across its higher education institutions. It believes deploying skilled faculty members and administrative employees at newer universities would strengthen their teaching, research and institutional capacity.

With IANS inputs