The state government once again came under heavy criticism after the principal of Jhargram Raj College, Kishore Kumar Rarhi was suddenly transferred to A.B.N. Seal College in Cooch Behar.
In September, Dr Rarhi was injured during campus violence in his college. He had openly pointed fingers at the district vice-president of Trina-mul Chhatra Parishad Soumen Acharya. According to the teachers and academic experts, the rules and norms of transfer policy have been violated in his case. What has irked the academic fraternity is that Dr Rarhi is a professor of linguistic while there is no linguistic department in the Cooch Behar College.
Besides, few months back, the state government had revised the transfer policy of the government college professors. According to the new policy, a teacher is transferred to his hometown during the last three years of his service. Dr Rarhi is to retire in less than three years and he is a resident of Salt Lake in Kolkata. Question has been raised as to why he was not transferred to a college in Kolkata which is his hometown. Joint secretary of the West Bengal Government College Teachers Association Debashish Sarkar said: “He should have been transferred to Sanskrit College in Kolkata where he could have taught the subject.” Dr Rarhi said: “I had sought transfer as I was feeling uncomfortable at the principal’s post after that incident. According to the norms, I am eligible for a transfer in my hometown but this transfer was totally in contrast to the policy of the state government.”
However, state higher education minister Bratya Basu refuted all the allegations of violation of norms and said that the transfer was a routine one after the principle applied for it.