OUR CORRESPONDENT
TEZPUR: The ongoing protests at Tezpur University have taken a new turn with the burning of effigies of several senior university officials, including the Vice-Chancellor, Finance Officer, Executive Engineer, Dean, School of Engineering, and the Director, Internal Quality Assurance Cell (IQAC) on October 8.
The protests, which began on September 21, initially arose from student dissatisfaction over what they described as inadequate respect paid by the university administration following the death of the legendary singer, Zubeen Garg. However, what started as a student movement has reportedly turned into a platform for personal grievances among certain faculty members against Professor Debendra Chandra Baruah, Director of the IQAC.
“As an academician, researcher, and social worker, I have worked for over two decades at different levels for higher education and socio-technical development in Assam. I categorically deny these charges and find it very regrettable that the protest has taken such a personal direction,” said Professor Baruah while supporting all the genuine demands of the protesting TU fraternity.
Prof Baruah said that he dealt only with academic administration including ranking and accreditation and therefore, had never had any connection with any other alleged administrative decisions as demanded by protestors. As known from social media sources, the allegation against Professor Baruah is reportedly in delaying the promotion of several faculty members under the University Grants Commission (UGC) Career Advancement Scheme (CAS).
Addressing this, he clarified, “The IQAC is not a statutory body of the university, and the promotion of an individual under the UGC-CAS is not the decision of any single person such as the Director, IQAC. The Director’s role is limited to monitoring the process, not awarding the promotion.”
He further explained that IQAC operated under the scrutiny of UGC regulations and University administration and that following the UGC CAS guidelines, the decisions were taken by the administration. “If specific allegations are made connecting my role as Director of IQAC, I am ready to justify every decision taken on my part,” Professor Baruah asserted.
Prof Baruah condemned the role of any individual in demeaning the academic culture with baseless allegations and burning effigy of teachers, and challenged to bring up any specific allegation against him.
Prof Baruah spoke highly of the Citizens’ Meeting convened in Tezpur on October 8, and appreciated the concerns of the society towards the issues in Tezpur University. He further commented that such awareness by the residents of Tezpur was exemplary in terms of their commitment towards the existence of an educational institution which should be administered by democratic means, and not by individualistic autonomy.
Professor Baruah observed that a few colleagues had been using social media platforms to launch unsubstantiated personal attacks. These actions, the professor asserted, had caused significant reputational harm and would be difficult to tolerate forever.
The statement further alleged that this online activity had a negative cascading effect, influencing students to post abusive content targeting faculty. This has reportedly contributed to disorder and a decline in academic decorum on campus. “Outcomes of the protests should lead to a clean and disciplined enquiry, not personal vilification. Instead of attacking individuals, emphasis must be placed on improving placement opportunities for students, increasing research fellowships which currently stand at a meagre Rs 8,000 per month, ensuring free studentship for underserved communities, better hostel management and facilities, and providing equal opportunities for contractual employees and their wards,” said Professor Baruah.
He further emphasized the need for internationalization of the university, research collaborations, seed money grants for faculty research, renovation of laboratories, and establishment of incubation centres for entrepreneurship. “Our demands and protests should aim at the betterment of the university, not unjustified defamation of a teaching member of the academic fraternity,” he concluded, wishing quicker resolving of the issues.
Also Read: Tezpur University Students Stage Protest Over VC’s Absence, Alleged Irregularities and Mismanagement
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