Teachers cry foul over extension denial

Mou Chakraborty
Kolkata, June 13, 2007

Teachers of various varsities alleged on Wednesday that Siddhartha Ray, a nuclear physics professor of Kalyani University, has been refused extension due to political reasons.
Ray retired in September 2006 and has been given repeated extensions by Vice Chancellor Arabindo Das. “It is purely for political reason that an eminent scientist like Ray is being denied an extension. This is the clear case of discrimination. The students are going to suffer because Ray does not belong to the Left lobby,” said Dipak Banerjee, general secretary of All Bengal University Teachers Association (ABUTA) and a professor at Jadavpur University. A joint petition has been filed by ABUTA to Governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi, who is also the chancellor of all state universities. The faculty and students of Ray has also submitted their petition.
Professors in Bengal retire at the age of sixty but are eligible for extension for five years, provided the university feels he is needed. Last month, the Kalyani University had set up a screening panel to decide on the extension. “Strangely, two among the three academic experts are not from Ray’s stream. The departmental committee report on Ray was not tabled. The screening committee did not recommend Ray’s extension,” said Tarun Nashkar, ABUTA joint secretary and a professor of engineering faculty of Jadavpur University.
Nuclear physics professors from all universities have urged Gandhi, to provide Ray an extension. “At a time when we are finding it tough to find good teachers we need Ray. The real losers will be students,” said Banerjee.
Amit Ray, the director of UGC’s Inter University Accelerator Centre, a facility used by over 70 universities with radio physics departments, has also written to Gandhi urging Ray’s extension. “Ray’s contribution to nuclear physics research and his ability as a teacher cannot be questioned. I would strongly urge you for an extension so that Ray can guide the students and conduct research on an area which is very critical to the nation.”
The university however is yet to give its official verdict. “I cannot comment. How can someone claim that the university has not given an extension to Ray? We have not come out with any statement in his regard yet,” said Vice Chancellor of KU, Arabindo Das. “We will no be able to comment on the mater until the Executive Committee of the university takes final decision,” said registrar of KU Utpal Bhattacharya.
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