SUBHASH MISHRA
Dhanbad, January 27: A long pending poll of the Federation of University Teachers Association of Jharkhand (FUTAJ) will be held in March.
Giving this information, FUTAJ general secretary Dr Raj Kumar (Ranchi) said that Binod Bihari Mahto Koylanchal University Teachers Association (BBMKUTA) Dhanbad has shown interest in holding a state body election. “So, we are gearing up to conduct it in March if all goes as per plan,” he added.
FUTAJ election due since 2017
The election of FUTAJ, the frontal organisation of Jharkhand’s all universities/colleges’ teachers, has been due since 2017. The last and first election of the FUTAJ after the creation of a separate Jharkhand state was held in 2014 under the supervision of Sido Kanhu Murmu University (SKMU) Dumka in 2014.
The election was held only for the post of president in which Prof NK Singh of SKMU Dumka defeated Prof Balvir Singh Sidhu of Vinoba Bhave University, Hazaribagh. However, the election became due in 2017. President Dr NK Singh also retired from their job in May 2023; since then, the FUTAJ has been headless.
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BBMKUTA general secretary
A senior member of the FUTAJ said after the COVID period in 2022, when other university teachers’ bodies refused to host the state body election, the then BBMKUTA general secretary, Dr Himanshu Shekhar Choudhary, assured to host in Dhanbad.
Present general secretary of BBMKUTA, Dr Amulya Suman Beck, when contacted today over the announcement of the FUTAJ general secretary, said that his body will, of course, host the election if responsibility is given.
Youth Festival
“We (BBMKU teachers) are preparing for the Youth Festival. I would discuss hosting the FUTAJ election with committee members soon,” said Dr Beck.
Barring the BBMKUTA, the election is pending in all universities of the state, including Vinoba Bhave University (VBU) Hazaribagh, Sido Kanhu Murmu University, Dumka, Kolhan University, Chaibasa, Ranchi University, Ranchi and others.
The BBMKUTA held its election on December 20, 2023, in which, besides vice-president posts, all office bearers were elected unopposed.
Nilamber-Pitamber University
An office-bearer of the FUTAJ said that in 2014, teachers of Nilamber-Pitamber University Palamu did not participate in the election. Still, this time, they would try to associate teachers of all universities in the March election.
