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1. She may be willing to lend funds to the college, perhaps additional land too. What funding has the CJI ever given?
2. The present VC/admin and GC/EC members are basically Trinamool footsoldiers. I would rather have the big boss in charge than these small guys. The students can go to Mamata directly in case of any problem. Also, there is infighting even between the Trinamool foot soldiers in the GC/EC. Having big boss in charge means she can take final decisions and overrule factions.
3. I do not foresee any harm to placements. There is now a clear trend where a large chunk of students from NLSIU/NALSAR/NLUD are rejecting Indian law firm placements. As long is this trend continues, NUJS will remain assured of a good number of Indian law firm placements. Perhaps foreign law firm placements may take a hit, but these firms are not mass recruiters.
4. I also do not foresee any harm to Rhodes scholarships and other foreign LLM admissions. Academia abroad is heavily left-leaning and anti-Modi. They like people like Mamata and Rahul. Thus, candidates from West Bengal will be looked upon favourably. Look at Jadavpur University: they have produced tons of Rhodes scholars.
So overall I think there will be many benefits of Mamata becomes the Chancellor.
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But then, clearly the UP education model is far superior.
Like many other sectors in West Bengal, education is in a mess. Last December, Dhankhar had taken to Twitter to allege that due process had not been followed in the appointment of vice-chancellors to 24 universities in the state. The most high-profile case that Banerjee’s critics cite is the appointment of Sonali Chakravarty Banerjee as vice-chancellor of Calcutta University—Chakravarty is the wife of Alapan Bandopadhyay, former chief secretary of the state and currently “chief adviser to the chief minister”.[/I]
[i]If Banerjee manages to get full control of the state’s universities...she will have an absolutely free hand to appoint and promote both academic and non-academic staff, and dictate syllabi and reading material ...
https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/politics/mamata-banerjee-poet-painter-education-czarina-8599191.html
Certain messages are going around in WhatsApp which are circulating news reports that Mamata Banerjee is appointing herself as Chancellor of all state universities in West Bengal. While the news is true, I request everyone not to jump the gun and assume that it applies to NUJS. Please note that the root cause of the government's decision is the fight between Mamata Banerjee and the Governor of West Bengal (who is the ex-officio Chancellor of state universities). The governor is NOT the Chancellor of NUJS. In fact, the Governor has even been boycotted and cancelled by NUJS students, following his support for the CAA, and has never since set foot inside NUJS. Also, I highly doubt that Mamata Banerjee will want to remove the CJI as Chancellor and antagonise the judiciary. In view of this, it is wrong to assume that NUJS will also have Mamata Banerjee as the Chancellor.
I thus request people not to spread such news until the actual bill is introduced. Please do not spread misinformation and spread panic needlessly. In particular, please do not frighten CLAT aspirants. Please be responsible, friends.
Thank you. 🙏
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/cm-not-governor-will-be-chancellor-of-state-varsities-wb-govt-passes-proposal/articleshow/91821770.cms
https://epaper.thestatesman.com/c/68275449
https://epaper.telegraphindia.com/imageview/397261/195444808/71.html
https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/west-bengal-cm-mamata-banerjee-chancellor-all-state-run-universities-1954467-2022-05-26
I messaged a faculty member on WhatsApp and asked for his views re NUJS. His answer was "It is not clear. Let us wait".
The origins of this lies in the animosity between Mamata and the governor of West Bengal (who Mamata wants to replace as Chancellor of state universities). But there is also the creeping politicisation of universities in West Bengal. For example, when Menon/Chimni/MP Singh were the VCs of NUJS, they were VERY eminent people on the GC: the who's who of the Supreme Court. In comparison, the current GC is filled with MLAs from the TMC and unknown people. Under NKC, the VC of NLSIU has been removed from the GC for the first time ever: https://www.nujs.edu/home/about-nujs/organisational-structure.
As far as the proposed bill to appoint Mamata as the VC of all state universities is concerned, a test case was filed in the Calcutta High Court arguing that NUJS is a national law university and not a state university. The case was being argued by alumni Rohit Das and Fouzia Shakeel. The case was filed shortly after the Karnataka High Court decision ruling that NLSIU is a national University, as the CJI is the Chancellor of NLSIU. However, the case was withdrawn and the SJA also did not support the petition. Thus, as of now, it would seem that NUJS is a State University. In fact, the full name of NUJS is WBNUJS. So, going by this, Mamata Banerjee will be the new Chancellor of NUJS.
On the other hand, it is also possible that an exception may be made for NUJS in the bill, because Mamata may not want to remove the CJI as chancellor, for fear of upsetting the judiciary, at a time there are a lot of criminal cases pending against her partymen.
Yet another option is some sort of middle ground, where the CJI is designated as Visitor but Mamata is made the Chancellor.
What do others think??? Anyone else spoken to any other faculty??