Tezpur University senior professor assumes charge as acting VC amid campus shutdown

Tezpur University, which has remained closed for seven days, witnessed a dramatic shift on Friday when the senior-most professor on campus took charge as acting vice-chancellor. The move came suo motu in the early hours of the morning, following weeks of unrest and calls for the removal of Vice-Chancellor Shambhu Nath Singh.

The turbulence intensified after Prof. Singh convened a Board of Management (BoM) meeting on Thursday afternoon and subsequently appointed Mass Communication professor Joya Chakraborty as pro-vice-chancellor.

Chakraborty declined the offer, and the Tezpur University United Forum (TUUF), which has been leading the agitation, vowed to continue the indefinite shutdown. The campus has been shut since 29 November.

Protesters have been demanding Prof. Singh’s ouster over allegations of corruption and maladministration. With no intervention from the Ministry of Education during the past weeks, the university community resolved late on Thursday to invoke provisions of the Tezpur University Act, 1993.

Under the Act, the senior-most faculty member, Prof. Dhruba Kumar Bhattacharya from the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, assumed charge as acting VC. He has written to the Ministry of Education to apprise officials of the development, quoting relevant statutory clauses.

Faculty and student representatives say they were compelled to act after months of silence from the authorities. “We were waiting for something positive from the ministry, but it remained a mute spectator while the administration attempted to install a pro-VC,” a senior professor said.

Protesters insist they will accept nothing short of Singh’s removal, pointing out that the vice-chancellor has been absent from campus for nearly three months.

The indefinite shutdown has halted all services and academic activities. End-term examinations have been cancelled, with assurances that they will be rescheduled.

Both the Tezpur University Teachers’ Association (TUTA) and the Non-Teaching Employees’ Association (TUNTEA) have endorsed the protest under the banner of TUUF.

The agitation first erupted in mid-September, when students accused the VC of disrespecting cultural icon Zubeen Garg during a period of mourning. The Sonitpur district administration later ordered a magisterial probe into the episode, and a fact-finding committee constituted by the Assam governor visited the campus soon after.

Since then, at least 11 faculty members and senior officials have resigned from their positions or from the university.

Protesters allege that financial irregularities and questionable administrative decisions under Singh’s tenure have eroded trust. They have also raised environmental concerns, claiming that tree felling and clearing of bamboo patches were carried out under the pretext of “beautification”, undermining the ecological character of the campus.

With the campus in limbo, the university’s first-ever academic rescheduling due to a student-led protest marks a historic moment. Students say the shutdown will continue until an official enquiry into the allegations is ordered, insisting that the credibility of the institution is at stake.

With PTI Inputs