SUBHASH MISHRA
Dhanbad, Nov 9: The general body is going to decide the date of the second election of Binod Bihari Mahto Koylanchal University Teachers Association (BBMKUTA).
Dr Jitendra Aryan, the spokesperson of BBMKUTA said that a general body meeting has been called next week to finalize the date of the poll, its process for selection of a new committee and other related issues.
The BBMKUTA election was due in 2020 but due to the Corona pandemic, it could not be held last two years. Since the situation has improved present body under Prof RK Tiwary and Prof Himanshu Shekhar Choudhary has decided to hold the election as soon as possible in the interest of teachers of the university.
Teachers of 10 Dhanbad and Bokaro-based constituent colleges of BBMKU will participate in the election and select the new office–bearers for the 2022-2025 term. This year’s poll is significant as both erstwhile warring factions (Prof BN Singh and Prof Himanshu Shekhar Choudhary) have agreed to participate in a single poll.
After becoming a separate university in 2017 from Vinoba Bhave University Hazaribagh, BBMKU’s first election of the teachers’ association was held in 2018. But teachers divided into two groups over the posts and held elections separately.
Prof BN Singh, who was the general secretary of the VBU Teachers Association at the time of bifurcation, held a meeting of his group of teachers and was unanimously elected the general secretary of BBMKUTA. Senior Professor Prof Y Jha became the president.
On the other hand, the majority of teachers of all 10 constituent colleges held separate elections under the supervision of the Federation of Universities of Teachers Association of Jharkhand (FUTAJ) in which Prof RK Tiwary and Prof Himanshu Shekhar Choudhary were elected the president and general secretary of BBMKU respectively.
FUTAJ president Prof NK Singh (Dumka University) and general secretary Prof Rajkumar (Ranchi University) who were the observers in the election, recognized Prof Himanshu Shekhar Choudhary-led association as the official body.
However, now both factions of teachers’ bodies have announced to hold a single election unitedly and sacrifice in the interest of teachers. FUTAJ leaders and senior teachers of the university have welcomed the decision of both factions and expressed hope that the teachers’ body would emerge stronger and will be able to raise its voice for the teachers.
