My future seems so bleak now. I don’t know what to do next,” said Ankit (name changed), a third-semester postgraduate student of mathematics at Darjeeling Hills University (DHU), West Bengal, which has neither teachers nor classrooms to teach in. The DHU has left all its students in a similar state.
A public state university established with much fanfare under the West Bengal’s Greenfield University Act 2018, DHU started operating from November 2021 under its first vice-chancellor Subiresh Bhattacharya. As the VC of North Bengal University (NBU), Bhattacharya had the additional charge of DHU, temporarily located in the NBU campus. Since then, the university has had no permanent VC, teachers, administrative staff or campus and is, in effect, dying a slow death.
The first batch was admitted late in November 2021 and not in September as is standard. This led to agitation and Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee herself had to go to Darjeeling in October 2021 to pacify and reassure local leaders and educationists.
A website was created for DHU under the supervision of NBU and classes started from January 2022, said a teacher on conditions of anonymity. A few months later in September 2022, derailing all plans, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested Bhattacharya in connection with the West Bengal teacher recruitment scam. Bhattacharya had been the chairman of the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) when the scam had allegedly taken place.
VC appointment
This story is from the March 2024 edition of Careers 360.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the March 2024 edition of Careers 360.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
The 50 colleges in 5 countries where most Indians go for MBBS abroad
Data on countries and colleges from the Foreign Medical Graduates Examination (FMGE) 2022 - the latest available - shows that most Indians who completed medical degrees abroad and wrote the FMGE went to five countries.
Foreign medical colleges: Look before you leap
A close look at foreign medical colleges that thousands of Indians have graduated from shows that many are unaccredited, don’t have hospitals or even their own websites
'Either I clear FMGE or leave the country'
After spending lakhs on MBBS degrees abroad, thousands spend years trying to clear the FMGE. That is the only option for Indian graduates of foreign medical colleges to build a career in India
Why hundreds of nursing graduates leave India each year
There has been an increase in nursing institutes over the past two decades but policy gaps, lax regulations, poor pay and opportunities are pushing a large number of nursing staff to seek opportunities abroad
In Kashmir, why NEET and JEE candidates flock to private reading halls to prepare for exams
These are accessible round-the-clock, even on public holidays, have private cabins and booths, kitchen, discussion area and some, even places for napping
Battling despair and depression in medical school
Long hours, bullying, lack of support make a difficult programme tougher for medical students. They hope for clear guidelines from the NMC
This father-daughter duo uncovered a scam in NEET admissions in West Bengal
Several generalcategory students had secured admission in medical colleges with forged ST certificates. Ishita Soren spotted the names, and her father followed up
'Forced to take up bonded labour
There's massive resistance to a state policy in Karnataka that requires even private medical college graduates to do one year's mandatory rural service
‘A routine circus': PG medical students lobby, move court to get stipends
Despite NMC orders, many medical colleges still seriously underpay resident doctors and threaten them into silence. In government colleges, stipends can be delayed for months
Why Mizoram wants centre to take over its only medical college
Mizoram got its first state medical college in 2018. In 2023, it asked the union government to take over. Mixed up in this are questions of funding, MBBS seat distribution
