Kolkata : West Bengal Education Minister Partha Chatterjee Friday urged students of Jadavpur University not to boycott the annual convocation scheduled Dec 24.
Chatterjee’s plea came a day after Governor and Chancellor K.N. Tripathi warned the students against going ahead with the boycott which they have called to press their demand to remove vice-chancellor Abhijit Chakrabarti.
“The students can agitate their whole life but the convocation comes once in a year. If they consider in favour of attending the event, it will be good for all,” Chatterjee told mediapersons here.
Besides a majority of students, the Jadavpur University Teachers’ Association too has decided to boycott the convocation, seeking the removal of the vice-chancellor as well as an impartial probe into the police crackdown on the students on the intervening night of Sep 16 and 17.
The students were allegedly beaten up by police when they confined the VC, registrar and members of the University Executive Council, demanding a fresh probe into the alleged sexual harassment of a girl student on the campus.
Following Tripathi’s warning Thursday, the students have called a meeting Dec 22 to decide their future course of action.