‘Ensure regular meetings, audits, zero tolerance for corruption’: BJP tells college governing body presidents

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) organized a workshop for presidents of the governing bodies at over 450 colleges in West Bengal on Tuesday. The workshop, held at the National Library, emphasized financial oversight, recruitment, student welfare, and the proper functioning of governing body meetings. The meeting, attended by BJP state president Shamik Bhattacharya and state observer Sunil Bansal, also discussed upcoming municipal elections.

A significant portion of the session focused on the roles and responsibilities of newly appointed governing body presidents. According to BJP leaders, the presidents were instructed to maintain "zero tolerance" for corruption, misuse of power, or political interference in college affairs. One of the presidents, who participated in the meeting, stated that they were instructed to strictly adhere to the West Bengal Universities and Colleges (Administration and Regulation) Act, 2017.

The president emphasized the importance of avoiding political influence in educational institutions, implementing a centralized portal, and ensuring the college governing body operates in compliance with the Act. The meeting also covered regular governing body meetings, timely annual budgets, audits, employee provident fund deposits, and proper record-keeping of minutes.

Financial responsibilities included monitoring whether the decisions taken by the governing body were implemented. In terms of human resources, presidents were reminded to follow the College Service Commission's recommendations for permanent teacher appointments and to ensure timely completion of processes related to employee annual reports, promotions, leave, pension, and gratuity.

The BJP leadership also advised presidents to routinely inspect college hostels, maintain campus safety, and encourage participation in sports and NCC activities. The presidents were warned against signing blank cheques or using college funds for personal benefits and were cautioned against holding governing body meetings without a quorum or taking unilateral decisions.

Other guidelines included avoiding illegal teacher recruitment, delays in audits or provident fund-related work, and violations of government orders. Presidents were explicitly told not to interfere in academic or teaching matters or discriminate against students or staff. After the meeting, Higher Education Minister Jagannath Chattopadhyay affirmed the state's commitment to a "zero tolerance" policy towards corruption.

Chattopadhyay highlighted that the workshop aimed to educate the new presidents on their responsibilities and ensure the colleges function without political interference. He also mentioned that student body elections would only be held in colleges with a sufficient number of students.