Filling key JU posts a priority, says VC after taking charge
Times of India | 4 November 2025
Kolkata: Jadavpur University welcomed its permanent VC on Monday after two and a half years. After taking charge on Monday, Chiranjib Bhattacharjee said one of his foremost priorities is to fill the significant vacancies in the university, which include key administrative positions.
"One of the major challenges is that several official positions, like registrar, finance officer, and dean of students, are lying vacant. My foremost priority will be to initiate recruitment in those key positions for the smooth functioning of the university. Since there has been no permanent VC since 2023, recruitment of teachers and non-teaching staff was stalled. We are lagging in manpower resources in every category, be it officials, teachers, or non-teaching staff," said Bhattacharjee.
JU has 890 sanctioned teaching posts, but there are only 580 teachers now. Similarly, out of 1,551 sanctioned non-teaching posts, 910 are in position. "We have not had a permanent registrar, finance officer, dean of students, deans of arts, science, engineering, interdisciplinary studies, law, and management for more than a year. Other important positions, like chief librarian, faculty secretaries, deputy registrars, and development officer, are lying vacant," a teacher said.
Sources said Bhattacharjee held an internal meeting on Monday and gave civil engineering head Anupam Deb Sarkar the charge of acting dean of students after Bappa Mullick resigned from the post last week citing ‘personal reasons'. A team of five professors has also been formed to coordinate with Deb Sarkar on student-related matters.
Another priority for the newly appointed VC is to conduct the annual convocation smoothly, scheduled on Dec 24, which is JU's foundation day.
"We have limited time to plan and execute the convocation. I will talk with governor C V Ananda Bose, the chancellor of JU, and seek permission to hold the convocation," he said.
Speaking on the installation of CCTV cameras and campus security, the VC said, "JU has a distinct identity, and a heritage and tradition of its own. All stakeholders, including students, are adults, and I hope that they will act responsibly. I am sure that they are aware of their rights and limits of which actions are appropriate on a campus.
I will have to go through the court directive on CCTV cameras and hold discussions before installing them.
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Talking about JU's dip in engineering rank in NIRF, Bhattacharjee said, "We need to hold discussions and explore areas that need improvement." Sending a positive message on students' union elections, he said it has been a long-standing demand of students, and he himself wants union elections to take place. "We require the state govt's permission to hold students' union polls. I will see that we get the permission," he added.