Tezpur University continues to remain tense as the Vice Chancellor, Shambhu Nath Singh, who has been missing from the campus for months, has now called for a Board of Management (BoM) meeting on Thursday evening. The information about the meeting reached the members through a short email, which only said that the meeting would be held in blended mode. No other details were mentioned in the message, leaving many confused and upset.
Early in the morning, a student expressed his anger while speaking to Pratidin Time. He said, “It seems the VC has no guts to face the students, teachers and employees of the university. His acts have infuriated all of us, and now he has to face the ire. We condemn his escapist attitude.” His comments reflect the frustration felt widely across the campus.
For months now, Tezpur University has been almost paralysed. Students, teachers and employees have been protesting together, demanding the removal of the Vice Chancellor. Mr. Singh has not been seen on campus during this period, and the situation has become so serious that the issue was raised in Parliament by opposition MPs Gaurav Gogoi and Ajit Kr. Bhuyan. 
The sudden decision to call a BoM meeting has triggered even more questions. According to the email, the meeting venue is the Union Education Ministry in New Delhi. This has raised concerns among the university community. A faculty member told Pratidin Time, “When two enquiries against the VC are ongoing, how come the Education Ministry is holding such a meeting? Will the Centre shield the VC, who has derailed our university?” He also added, “Will TU have the same fate as NEHU?”
Three major bodies of the university—TUTA (Tezpur University Teachers Association), TUNTEA (Tezpur University Non-Teaching and Employees Association) and the Students’ Union—have strongly condemned the move. They say that the VC is trying to make decisions from outside the campus instead of facing the people who have been demanding accountability.
Meanwhile, the matter also reached Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. On Wednesday, he said that he had spoken with Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan about the situation. He requested the Centre to appoint a Pro-Vice Chancellor immediately until an impartial enquiry into the VC’s conduct is completed.
However, teachers and students at Tezpur University have made it clear that their stand remains firm. They say they are not demanding a Pro-VC. Instead, they want the immediate suspension of the current Vice Chancellor and the appointment of an Acting Vice Chancellor. They also want all the enquiry reports that have already been submitted to be made public.
In a joint statement, the protesting groups said, “Our demands remain unchanged: immediate suspension of the current Vice Chancellor pending enquiry, appointment of an Acting Vice Chancellor—not a Pro-VC, and publication of all inquiry reports already submitted to authorities.”
