Kolkata, Eighteen academics have called for the withdrawal of the West Bengal inter-university transfer bill, alleging that it threatens varsity autonomy and academic freedom.
Nandita Narain, former president of the Delhi University Teachers’ Association and the Federation of Central Universities Teachers’ Associations , stressed the responsibility of teachers to safeguard campus autonomy and educational rights while fostering democratic values among students and society. AH Rajasab, former vice-chancellor of Tumkur University in Karnataka, alleged that attempts were being made to suppress progressive and rational thinking in public universities. Syed Akhtar Husain, president of the Jawaharlal Nehru University Teachers’ Association and FEDCUTA, called on teachers across the country to oppose the proposed legislation through political, legal and social means.
The demand was raised at an all-India online protest meeting held on October 8, organised by the Association of Bengal University Teachers in association with the West Bengal College and University Teachers’ Association and other university-level teachers’ bodies in the state, according to an ABUTA statement on Saturday. The West Bengal Universities and Colleges Amendment Bill, 2026, was introduced and passed during a special session of the state Assembly on September 10, empowering the government to transfer teaching and non-teaching staff from one state university to another, among a total of eight such institutions across the state.
Jawhar Sircar, former principal secretary of higher education in the state government and ex-chief executive officer of Prasar Bharati, termed the proposed legislation a “direct attack on university autonomy”. Arun Kumar, general secretary of the All India Federation of University and College Teachers’ Organisations , described the Bill as an attempt to “punish teachers and create an atmosphere of fear”.
