DHE doubles salvo for Cachar College principal Dr Siddharth Sankar Nath

A CORRESPONDENT

SILCHAR: Controversial principal of Cachar College Dr Siddharth Sankar Nath gets double snubs from the higher authorities. In back to back orders, Director of Higher Education Dharmakanta Mili had asked Nath to allow Professor Ananda Ghose, who was barred from entering the college campus by the governing body of Cachar College, to take classes as usual. Within 24 hours, in an order, Mili instructed Nath not to allot any assignment to Professor Nayana Goswami of Sanskrit other than her parent department. Both the decisions of Principal Nath, that is, restriction on Ananda Ghose's entry in the college campus as well as, instructing Nayana Goswami to take classes of such subjects not relevant to her parent department, were termed as 'autocratic orders' by the teaching fraternity of the college who submitted written complaints to Mili.

During Mili's recent visit to Cachar College to investigate the incident that led to the arrest of Siddharth Sankar Nath on the basis of an FIR lodged by Deputy Commissioner alleging the principal had violated the SOP framed by the government in conducting the examination for the post of 3rd and 4th grade post, both Ghose and Goswami apprised him the humiliation they had been subjected to by the principal.

A source in the college said, on April 25, Principal Nath issued an order asking three teachers to take classes of other departments under interdisciplinary practice. Nayana Goswami refused to volunteer as citing that being a teacher of Sanskrit she was unable to teach History. Nath allegedly tried to harass Goswami in various pretexts and finally she submitted a petition to the DHE. On September 8, Dharmakanta Mili in a letter to Nath clearly said that since Nayana Goswami is an Assistant Professor of Sanskrit she shouldn't be engaged in other subjects non-relevant to her department.

The case of Professor Ananda Ghose was more peculiar as he was debarred from entering the college premise since March 21 on the ground of 'maintenance of academic atmosphere.' For last 16 months Ghose had been drawing salary without even entering into the place that disburse the money and without taking any class for which he was paid the salary. More interestingly, the Governing Body of the college on March 8, 2021 put the seal on the decision of debarring Ghose to enter into the college. Ghose later filed a suit at Gauhati High Court which vacated the resolution of the GB. But still then Nath did not allow him to enter the college. Ghose tried many times to enter the college but the guard stopped him at the gate. Element of surprise did not end here as neither the GB nor the colleagues of Ghose raised any voice in favour of him. However, finally the DHE intervened and Ananda Ghose was allowed to step into the college.

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