Central Universities Face Crisis, Says FEDCUTA; Teachers’ Body Seeks Removal of Tezpur University VC

In a statement, FEDCUTA has expressed solidarity with the Tezpur University Teachers’ Association (TUTA), which has demanded the removal of its Vice Chancellor.

The Federation of Central Universities’ Teachers’ Associations (FEDCUTA) has raised alarm over alleged crisis in different central universities, highlighting growing confrontations between faculty and varsity administrations.

In a statement, FEDCUTA has expressed solidarity with the Tezpur University Teachers’ Association (TUTA), which has demanded the removal of its Vice Chancellor.

According to FEDCUTA, call for Vice Chancellors removal are not isolated incidents but part of a larger trend of discontent in central universities. FEDCUTA in its statement pointed out that central institutions like North Eastern Hill University (NEHU) and Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) have already seen similar demands from their teaching community.

In September, Jawaharlal Nehru University Teachers’ Association (JNUTA) sent letters to the President of India, who is also the Visitor to the university, seeking removal of the JNU Vice Chancellor following the controversial termination of a faculty member.

At Tezpur University, the immediate trigger for protest was Vice Chancellor’s alleged insensitivity towards sentiments of campus community after death of a prominent cultural figure from Assam.

However, TUTA (Tezpur University Teachers Association) has also flagged long-term concerns such as excessive centralization of powers, financial irregularities, irregular appointments, and exclusion of faculty from decision-making.

FEDCUTA President Surajit Mazumdar and Secretary Anil Kumar in their statement said that such extreme measures by teachers’ associations only come when institutions reach a “breaking point.”

They have added that crisis stems from the way Vice Chancellors are appointed and empowered, often with the aim of imposing externally determined agendas on universities.

The teachers body has warned that the centralisation of authority in the hands of Vice Chancellors, combined with inadequate public funding, is eroding academic life and democratic functioning of universities. “The sidelining of faculty and the heavy hand of autocracy are sapping the energy out of academic institutions,” FEDCUTA said.

Calling the situation “grim” and “damaging to the academic future” of central universities, FEDCUTA urged the government to bring about fundamental changes in its policy approach towards higher education governance.

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