Students, teachers and non-teaching staff members of Assam’s Tezpur University have shut down the campus indefinitely, demanding that Vice-Chancellor Shambhu Nath Singh be immediately replaced due to allegations of corruption and financial irregularities, PTI reported on Wednesday.
The university in Sonitpur district has been witnessing protests for more than two months. However, the staff and students on Saturday declared a shutdown of all academic and administrative activities, The Indian Express reported.
The protests are being carried out under under the aegis of the Tezpur University United Forum. The Tezpur University Teachers’ Association and the Tezpur University Non-Teaching Employees’ Association have also supported the agitation.
Following the shutdown on Saturday, the Controller of Examinations issued a notification rescheduling the semester examinations, which were to begin on December 3, to December 8.
Tezpur University is the only other Central university in the state apart from Assam University. Singh had taken over as vice-chancellor in March 2023, after being the vice-chancellor of Patna University and a professor at Indira Gandhi National Open University earlier.
The students and staff at Tezpur University accuse Singh of financial irregularities and prolonged absence from campus, The Indian Express reported. His absence had led to “administrative stagnation”, dilapidation of campus infrastructure and disruption of academic processes, they allege.
In a memorandum to the Union Ministry of Education on November 18, the Tezpur University Teachers’ Association cited repeated extensions of the finance officer’s tenure, questionable faculty recruitments, preferential awarding of tenders and opaque financial decision-making, among other issues, as reasons for the agitation against Singh, The Indian Express reported.
It also claimed that Singh had not been on campus for 388 days between April 2023 and September 2025, which “exacerbated administrative stagnation and eroded confidence among stakeholders”.
The association further alleged the non-payment of labour wages and vendor bills, which it claimed had affected infrastructure and essential services, the newspaper reported.
The situation in the Tezpur University had earlier grown tense due to the administration’s alleged indifference towards the sentiments of the students after the death of singer Zubeen Garg on September 19.
A student told The Indian Express that the vice-chancellor had not been on campus on September 19 and added that the student council elections scheduled for the day after Garg’s death continued.
The elections were held despite state mourning being declared and a request that the polls be postponed as a mark of respect, the student said.
As the protests became widespread, the Sonitpur District Administration ordered a magisterial probe against Tezpur University authorities for allegedly disrespecting Garg, PTI reported.
A fact-finding committee formed by the Assam governor to look into claims about the functioning of the vice-chancellor also visited the university, along with a separate team from the Union Ministry of Education.
A member from the Tezpur University United Forum told the news agency that their demands included an immediate publication of the reports prepared by both the governor’s fact-finding committee and the Union Ministry of Education.
Tezpur University Teachers’ Association chief Kusum Kumar Bania also told PTI that Singh had been absent from the university for the last 74 days.
“During this period, our students continued their protest peacefully for 70 days, demonstrating remarkable restraint and responsibility,” PTI quoted Bania as saying. “However, there is a limit to how long they can wait and this is something the government must recognise with urgency.”
Amid the agitation, 11 faculty members and officials have relinquished their positions, including Finance Officer Braja Bandhu Mishra, PTI reported. Others include the registrar in charge, several deans, directors and assistant deans.
Earlier, Singh’s office had issued a clarification denying allegations of insensitivity and irregularities.
“Every expenditure undergoes due process and audit scrutiny, and no funds are ever utilised for purposes beyond what is legitimately permitted,” The Indian Express quoted the clarification as saying.
CM speaks to Union education minister
On Wednesday, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that he had spoken to Union Minister of Education Dharmendra Pradhan about the situation at Tezpur University and urged him to appoint a pro-vice chancellor immediately.
“I am confident that with the support of the Hon’ble Minister, the issues will be resolved at earliest,” the chief minister said.
However, the students at Tezpur University dismissed Sarma’s statements and said that he had “completely misunderstood” their core demands, India Today NE reported.
“Our demands remain unchanged: immediate suspension of the current vice chancellor pending enquiry, appointment of an acting VC – not a pro-VC – and publication of all inquiry reports already submitted to authorities,” the protesting groups stated.
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