Kolkata: The Inter-University Transfer Bill, 2026 passed at the Assembly on Thursday reignited debates over the state power to transfer college professors, a contentious practice with deep roots in the Left Front regime and which continued in the Trinamool times as well.University professors fear this transfer policy will be heavily weaponised to silence dissenting voices as well as serve as a threat to autonomy, academic freedom and will affect universities’ rankings, research and long-established labs by professors. The apprehension was evident when a senior professor from Calcutta University said, “I am 57 years old. I have developed the lab and infrastructure for over 27 years. If I am removed from here and sent somewhere else, will I be able to rebuild it with that same level of dedication and devotion?”The bill’s passage saw chief minister Suvendu Adhikari carry into the Assembly his tirade against Left-leaning professors and students as he called them sympathisers of “anti-national forces” who needed “strict medicines”. “Those who will have problems with these conditions are welcome to quit. Take a jhola (a bag) , become a full-time worker and sell Ganashakti (CPM mouthpiece). You can go around the New Market area once in a while with tin containers to collect donations,” he said.During the Left times, the state frequently exercised its authority to shuttle faculty members, many of them stalwart teachers, between Presidency College and various other govt institutes in Bengal. The govt used it as a tool to “punish” non-conforming professors to remote districts. The practice continued when the Trinamool was in office, too. Debashish Sarkar, who taught economics at govt-run Jhargram Raj College, was served a show-cause notice in 2012 for appearing on TV and criticising state policies. TOI tried to contact Sarkar, now the principal at Chandernagore College, but he declined to comment.Sampa Sen, a professor at Hooghly Mohsin College, was also served a show-cause notice for her comments on govt bandh norms during a TV talk show.Presidency University security guard Santosh Singh (widely known as Pappu Singh) was transferred to a remote college in Jhargram in Sept 2013 as an alleged punitive measure by the state after he testified and spoke publicly, identifying Trinamool supporters during vandalism and violence on the campus in 2013.A university professor, on the verge of retirement, said, “During the Left-led govt, every appointment, from that of VCs to schoolteachers, were dictated by Alimuddin Street, and penal transfers were a common practice. We thought things would change after 2011, but conditions deteriorated and now the same alarm bells are ringing after this amendment bill was passed. University professors have several responsibilities apart from teaching, research being a major area to secure grants for their institutes. These transfers will hamper such efforts as professors will be consumed with settling down in new environments, which will ultimately disrupt normal university functioning.”After the new bill was passed on Thursday, Nilay Kumar Saha, general secretary of WBCUTA, said, “While the govt claims this initiative is aimed at ‘maintaining equality and improvement’, its implementation threatens to dismantle the public-funded higher education system in our state. Many universities established after 2011 lack basic infrastructure, teaching posts and functioning labs. Transferring faculty from established institutes to these ailing campuses will not uplift quality. It will rather leave professors without facilities or students to teach.”Jadavpur University computer science engineering professor Nandini Mukhopadhyay said, “The driving force behind prestigious rankings, such as NIRF and QS, is the contribution of professors and researchers—gauged by metrics, like the number of research projects secured and papers published.” Mukhopadhyay, also a JUTA member, said, “The current govt repeatedly cite JU as a reference, proposing its professors go and teach at new state universities. Even if the professors agree to relocate, will premier institutes, like JU and CU, be able to sustain their top-tier rankings after they left? Looking ahead, will brilliant minds ever aspire to take up teaching positions at state universities after witnessing such policies? Will meritorious students even want to enroll in these institutes?”Bhaskar Goswami, who teaches economics at Burdwan University , and is a BUTA member, called the move unconstitutional as every university had its own rules for appointment. “We are not appointed by the chancellor. If we are, then first change the nomenclature from ‘state-aided university employee’ to ‘direct govt employee’. When a teacher receives fund from an external agency for research, it comes in the university’s name. Professors cannot just take that money to another university, it is not transferable. These bottlenecks exist.” Another university professor questioned the fate of research scholars under him, if transferred to a remote place. “The new govt spoke about university autonomy being compromised under the previous govt. Is this the autonomy we are experiencing now?”
