Kolkata: The state higher education department has begun restructuring college governing bodies across the state-aided colleges by appointing local BJP MPs and MLAs as the presidents.The initiative follows an official directive issued on Saturday and covers an initial phase of 247 state-aided colleges. State higher education minister Jagannath Chattopadhyay said: “Graduate MPs and MLAs have been nominated as governing body presidents across 247 colleges in the first phase. For the remaining colleges, prominent educationists and social workers will be appointed very shortly.”Rashbehari MLA Swapan Dasgupta has been named governing body president for Asutosh College, Jogamaya Devi College, and Shyamaprasad College. Barrackpore MLA Koustav Bagchi has been appointed for Surendranath Law College, while Cossipore MLA Ritesh Tiwari has been appointed as the GB president of Maharaja Manindra Chandra College, Kasiswari College, and Seth Anandaram Jaipuria College. Additionally, Maniktala MLA Tapas Roy and Baranagar MLA Sajal Ghosh have been appointed as the presidents of all three shifts of Vidyasagar College and Bangabasi College, respectively.The political appointments have raised questions, given the administration’s repeated assurances to keep educational institutions free from political interference. However, a source from the education department indicated that colleges with recently reported administrative irregularities were prioritised in the first phase. Several college principals also noted that having local legislators as the GB presidents could streamline daily operations and resolve administrative bottlenecks.The department had dissolved governing bodies statewide in mid-May, revoking extensions granted by the former administration and appointing temporary administrators. An official from a Kolkata college stated that financial operations remain strained due to frequent shifts in authorised signatories, emphasising that smooth functioning will depend on the swift appointment of remaining govt and university nominees to restructure governing bodies effectively. One college administrator remarked, “In the last three months, authorized signatories have been changed frequently, causing administrative difficulties in financial matters. Appointing a governing body president is not enough unless the other government and university nominees are also appointed.”
