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A forum representing SC,ST, OBC and minority communities in West Bengal has asked the education ministry to order a high level inquiry into alleged irregularities at Visva Bharati University in Santiniketan. The group has also sought a CAG audit. The complaint covers non teaching staff recruitment promotion issues, appointment of consultants and financial administration. The allegations were sent by email last week to Union Education Minister Prahlad Joshi by Baidyanath Saha who heads the central committee of the SC, ST, OBC and Minorities Joint Forum. Scroll for more details.
Visva Bharati Recruitment Process Faces Fresh Questions
The forum has raised concerns over several non teaching posts advertised by Visva Bharati in 2023. These posts included deputy registrar assistant registrar section officer and multi tasking staff. The National Testing Agency conducted the exams for these positions.
According to the complaint the merit list for MTS posts was published by NTA but similar lists for section officer assistant registrar and deputy registrar posts were not put on the NTA website. The forum said the university later published panels of qualified candidates on its own website and moved ahead with appointments. It has alleged that this left thousands of candidates without clarity about their standing in the selection process.
The complaint also said that in some cases recruitment was moving ahead even without panels being published on the university website. The forum has questioned whether the process followed the required rules of transparency and proper selection procedure.
Promotion Consultant Post And Past Appointments Also Questioned
The forum has also objected to the 2024 promotion of Pradip Kumar Saha who is now an assistant registrar and handles recruitment related work. It has alleged that he was promoted from section officer before completing three years in that post. The complaint referred to CAG observations and claimed that his appointment as assistant registrar was found irregular.
It further questioned why he continues to handle recruitment matters and why a consultant post linked to recruitment has been created for his possible re-engagement after retirement on October 31, 2026. The forum also said the internal audit officer had raised concerns about this arrangement.
The allegations span the tenures of former vice chancellors Sushanta Duttagupta and Bidyut Chakrabarty along with present vice chancellor Probir Kumar Ghosh. The forum has also claimed that 58 appointments during the Duttagupta period and 68 during the Chakrabarty period had faced questions over alleged irregularities.
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