Professor Binoy Kumar Saren has been selected as the interim Vice- Chancellor of Visva-Bharati University (VBU), becoming the first person from a Scheduled Tribe community to hold the post.

Saren name’s was announced by the registrar of the university in a statement issued on Saturday. “This is to notify that Prof.Binoy Kumar Saren, Adhyaksha (Principal), Palli Siksha Bhavana and Member of the Executive Council(Karma-Samiti) of Visva-Bharati, shall perform the duties of the Upacharya (Vice-Chancellor) of Visva-Bharati, in terms of Statute 3(6) of the Visva-Bharati Statutes, w.e.f. 01.09.2024,” the notification read.

Saren, the principal of Palli Shiksha Bhavana and senior member of the working committee of Visva-Bharati, was selected to the post after the expiry of the tenure of his predecessor Arabindo Mondal.

Kausik Bhattacharya, secretary, Visva Bharati University Faculty Association, said, “We congratulate Prof. Binoy Kumar Saren on his appointment as the interim Vice-Chancellor of Visva-Bharati. We are committed to wholeheartedly cooperating with him during his tenure. At the same time, we hope that Visva-Bharati will soon have a permanent Vice-Chancellor in place.”

VBU, the only central university in West Bengal, appointed Sanjay Kumar Mallick, the then principal of Kala Bhavana, as it’s acting Vice-Chancellor following the retirement of Visva Bharati’s ‘controversial’ permanent Vice-Chancellor Bidyut Chakraborty in November 2023.

Bidyut Chakraborty’s five-year tenure as the permanent Vice Chancellor from 2018 was riddled with controversies, including the one regarding installation of plaques to commemorate UNESCO World Heritage tag to Santiniketan and objectionable comments against Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

Mallick succeeded Chakraborty as VBU’s acting Vice-Chancellor and his tenure ended on May 29.

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