Transparency in, bhoy out: End to favouritism on edu min wish list

Kolkata: Transparent governance, tighter attendance norms, and an end to favouritism are among the key priorities of newly appointed higher education minister Jagannath Chattopadhyay, who said his focus for the five-year plan is a clean and accountable higher education system.

Chattopadhyay assumed charge at Bikash Bhavan on Wednesday afternoon and held an hour-long meeting with higher education department officials. After the meeting, he said officers were able to speak openly and without fear, unlike earlier. Citing the campaign slogan “Bhoy-Out, Bhorsha-In”, he said staff had previously felt constrained and often weighed political implications before raising issues, a culture he claimed would change quickly.

Sources said he asked officials to form a coordinated team and work with specialists in areas like research, syllabus design, admissions and related processes to implement upgrades. He stressed that governance must remain smooth and that procedural bottlenecks would not be allowed.

Calling favouritism a form of corruption, Chattopadhyay said the govt’s standard would be merit-based decision-making. He also argued that strained ties with the central govt had hurt the state, and said the new administration would seek closer alignment with central policies and support, citing the “double engine” approach.

On the Surendranath College issue, he said the incident reflected deeper problems in the sector, alleging that improper facilities were being found in place of academic infrastructure. He also said the govt would work to curb brain drain after class 12 and ensure teacher and staff recruitment examinations are held every year. He added that recruitment across school education, higher education, and technical education would be made bribe-free.

Chattopadhyay also took charge of the technical education, training and skill development portfolio.

Falakata MLA Dipak Barman, assigned to the school education department, was delayed due to severe weather and is expected to assume charge on Thursday morning.