Raiganj University Act, 2014
No: 26 Dated: Jan, 21 2015
THE RAIGANJ UNIVERSITY ACT, 2014
West Bengal Act XXVI of 2014
An Act to provide for constitution of the Raiganj University and for certain matters connected therewith and incidental thereto.
Whereas it is expedient to constitute Raiganj University in the district of Uttar Dinajpur on the land and properties of the existing Raiganj College (University College) by abolishing the existing Raiganj College (University College), and to enable the University to function efficiently as a teaching, training and research centre in various branches of learning and courses of study, including Humanities, Social and Basic Sciences, and promoting advancement and dissemination of knowledge and learning, and extending higher education to meet the requirements of higher education and research in the subjects and to serve the society and the nation;
It is hereby enacted in the Sixty-fifth Year of the Republic of India, by the Legislature of the West Bengal, as follows:-
CHAPTER I
Preliminary
1. Short title and Commencement. - (1) This Act may be called the Raiganj University Act, 2014.
(2) This section, section 61 and section 62 shall come into force at once; and the remaining provisions of this Act shall come into force on such date or dates as the State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint, and different dates may be appointed for different provisions of this Act.
2. Definitions. - In this Act, unless there is anything repugnant to the subject or context,-
(1) "appointed day" means the date referred to in sub-section (5) of section 61;
(2) "affiliated" in relation to a college or an institution means affiliated to the Raiganj University under this Act, in which instruction is provided, under prescribed conditions, for General courses of study, Professional courses of study, Vocational courses of study etc. at the undergraduate as well as at the post-graduate levels of study;
(3) "autonomous college" means a college affiliated to the University and enjoying academic freedom to:-
(a) determine its own courses of study and syllabi;
(b) determine rules of admission subject to the reservation policy of the State Government; and
(c) evolve methods of conducting examination and evaluation, under the guidelines and overall supervision of the University;
(4) "convocation" means a meeting of the Court for the purpose of conferring degrees, titles, diplomas, certificates or other academic distinctions;
(5) "Constituent College" means an affiliated college in which instruction is provided, under prescribed conditions, for honours as well as for postgraduate courses of study, and which is declared as such by the University:
Provided that, if in any professional subject no honours courses of study have been prescribed, a professional college may he a constituent college although no instruction is provided in that college for honours courses of study in that subject;
(6) "distance Education" means instruction imparted through correspondence or distance mode as recognized by the appropriate authority;
(7) "employee" in relation to the University means a person employed by the University and includes the employees of the existing college who have been appointed in a permanent substantive post and subjected to the specific provisions of this Act;
(8) "existing college" means the Raiganj College (University College);
(9) "financial year" means the year ending on the 31st day of March;
(10) "Government college" means a college which is maintained and managed by the Government of West Bengal;
(11) "Governor" means the Governor of the State of West Bengal;
(12) "hall" or "hostel" means a unit of residence of students maintained by the University;
(13) "Librarian" means,-
(a) in relation to the University, a Librarian or any other person holding a post of Librarian, by whatever name called, appointed or recognized as such by the University, and
(b) in relation to a college affiliated to the University, Librarian or any other person holding a post of Librarian, by whatever name called, appointed or recognized by the University or appointed by such college with prior approval of the State Government;
(14) "Minister" means the Minister-in-charge, Department of Higher Education appointed as such by the Governor;
(15) "non-teaching staff' means,-
(i) in relation to the University, the non-teaching staff appointed or recognized as such by the University not holding any teaching post or a person not holding the post of an officer or a person not holding the post of Librarian, by whatever name called;
(ii) in relation to an affiliated college, the non-teaching staff, not holding any teaching post (including part-time teaching post), appointed or recognized by the University or appointed by such college, but does not include a Librarian by whatever name called;
(16) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act;
(17) "Principal" means the head of a college or of an institution, by whatever name called;
(18) "private college" means a college which is fully financed, maintained and managed by private organization;
(19) "professional college" means a college affiliated to the University in which instruction is provided primarily for courses of study leading to any degree, diploma or certificate of the University in any professional subject and which is recognized under this Act as a professional college;
(20) "professional subject" means any of the subjects, namely, law, teachers' training, engineering, technology, agriculture, library and information science, mass communication and journalism, management studies or such other subject as may be provided by Regulations;
(21) "registered graduate" means a graduate registered in the University on making application in the prescribed form and on payment of a fee and in such manner as may be provided by the Statutes;
(22) "State Government" means the Government of West Bengal in the Higher Education Department;
(23) "Statutes", "Ordinances", and "Regulations" shall mean respectively, the Statutes, Ordinances and Regulations made under this Act;
(24) "Students' Council" means,-
(a) in relation to the University, the Students' Council constituted in the manner provided in the Regulations; and
(b) in relation to an affiliated college, the Students' Council constituted in the manner provided in the Regulations;
(25) "teacher of college" means a Professor, an Associate Professor or an Assistant Professor or a Reader holding a whole time substantive teaching post and appointed in a permanent vacancy in a college or recognized as such by the State Government;
(26) "teacher of University" means a Professor, an Associate Professor or an Assistant Professor or any other person, holding a whole time substantive teaching post and appointed in a permanent vacancy in the University or recognized as such by the University with prior approval of the State Government;
(27) "University" means the Raiganj University as constituted under this Act;
(28) "University College" means a college, or an institute, or a college combined with an institute, maintained and managed by the University, whether established by it or not;
(29) "University Laboratory", "University Library", "University Museum", or "University Institution" means a laboratory, a library, a museum or an institution, as the case may be, maintained and managed by the University, whether established by it or not.
CHAPTER II
University and its Officers
3. The University. - (1) The Chancellor and the first Vice-Chancellor of the University and the first members of the Raiganj University Council, and all persons who may hereafter become the Vice-Chancellor of the University or the members of the Raiganj University Council, the Court or the Executive Council, so long as they continue to hold such office or membership, shall constitute a body corporate by the name of the Raiganj University.
(2) The University shall have perpetual succession and a common seal and shall have powers to sue and be sued by the name of the Raiganj University.