Photo Courtesy: India Today Group
Guwahati: The Tezpur University Teachers Association wants the Ministry of Education to act on the investigation into Vice-Chancellor Shambhu Nath Singh. The ministry formed a committee on December 31, 2025, to probe allegations of administrative irregularities. Officials told Singh to take leave and step back from his duties. He has stayed off campus since September 24, 2025.
The committee finished its work and submitted a report in May 2026. The university has heard nothing since. Amarendra Kumar Das took over as Pro-Vice-Chancellor on January 7 to restore order after months of student-led protests. Those protests started in mid-September 2025 over financial concerns, campus deforestation, and the handling of the death of Zubeen Garg.
TUTA President Kusum K Bania pushed the government for a formal update. "The report has reportedly been with the Ministry since May. Tezpur University cannot be expected to wait indefinitely without knowing the outcome or the action taken," Bania said. The union also challenged the decision to keep paying Singh his full salary during his absence. They questioned the statutory authority behind these payments.
Teachers are worried that the lack of transparency will keep the university in limbo until Singh’s tenure expires. TUTA wants the ministry to settle the VC's status, clarify the committee's findings, and address the salary controversy. The association stressed that they do not want to disrupt the current academic recovery. They called on university leadership to finish pending work, including graduation ceremonies, staff promotions, and filling key positions like Registrar and Finance Officer.
Updated at 23rd August 2026 at 9:50pm
TUTA pointed to a Ministry communication from August 7 that ordered the university to keep paying Singh his full salary, with the understanding that final adjustments would hinge on the committee's findings. The union is now demanding a paper trail to justify those payments, questioning whether Singh has already burned through his contractually allowed leave.
The teachers fear the government might just let the clock run out on Singh's term to avoid a confrontation. While they are calling for transparency, they stressed they want to keep the campus calm. The union is pushing for the administration to stop dragging its feet on backlogged work, including career promotions, delayed graduations for two batches, and filling vital roles like the Executive Engineer and Controller of Examinations.
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