Tired of "petty politics", professor DC Nath says he won't seek a second term as Vice-chancellor of Assam University
Assam University Silchar, some believe hosts more agitation than classes. “It is mirroring Jawaharlal Nehru University in terms of agitation while standing miles behind when it comes to academics,” said a professor in Silchar.
This mismatch is impacting the rankings of Assam University Silchar as it continues to slip. In the Education Ministry’s National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) Assam University was ranked 97 in 2019. In 2020, it slipped out of the top hundred. “You cannot improve ranking when there are so many agitations,” vice-chancellor of Assam University, Professor, Dilip Chandra Nath had told Barak Bulletin after the rankings were disclosed.
There is an ongoing controversy too related to the 18th Convocation. What needs to be noted is that the 18th Convocation was supposed to be organised in February – March 2020. The administration could not as the agitating students decided to lock several key offices. “There is a lot of work that needs to be done to conduct a convocation and since the offices are not functional we are unable to do the work and therefore we have decided to postpone the convocation,” is what the vice-chancellor had said in February.
A section of the students decided to bring the University to a standstill after the authority decided to take disciplinary actions against research scholar Milon Das. Then came the pandemic and the 18th Convocation kept getting postponed.
Professor DC Nath’s term as vice-chancellor comes to an end in 2021. There is speculation that he will be given a second term. But, Nath rubbishes it. “I am already 68-year-old and therefore, I won’t apply for a second term here or anywhere else,” asserts vice-chancellor Dilip Chandra Nath.
“Moreover, I am tired of petty politics. There are people busy creating unnecessary problems. As we speak, there is a section of people trying to create a nuisance around the event involving Union Minister Nitin Gadkari. That is not right, it is very difficult to get a Minister to attend as the Guest Of Honour. We need to understand, that a University needs to work in coordination with the Government, be it a CPIM government of BJP or Congress Government. I have no intentions to continue as the vice-chancellor after my term gets over,” said Nath.
The academic scenario in Barak Valley consists of a few islands of excellence in the ocean of mediocrity. While Assam University is often compared with the National Institute of Technology, the comparison is not an apple to apple comparison. NIT enrolls the top of the pyramid, it filters only the brilliance. Assam University, on the other hand, has no such filters. At the same time, Assam University is a lamp of hope in the dark streets.
“There are hundreds of cases where ordinary students enrolled in the University and pass out as excellent ones. Today, they are doing great in their respective careers. No matter how much we highlight the negatives, the University is a success story,” said a retired professor.
His critics say Nath sides the right. They point out his close association with ABVP and RSS each time there is a controversy. His admirers believe that he is what is needed to democratise education and implement government reforms adequately.
While both sides have their arguments, what cannot be disputed is that Nath had a great academic career himself which started from a Village school in Boleshwar in Katigorah. He then went to Gurucharan College, Cotton College and did his masters from Delhi University. He completed his PhD from Banaras Hindu University and did postdoctoral research at Duke University, United States.
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