SUBHASH MISHRA
Dhanbad, April 7: Teachers’ associations from four universities in Jharkhand have decided to revive the Federation of University Teachers Association of Jharkhand (FUTAJ), which has remained defunct since 2015.
Presidents and secretaries of Kolhan University Teachers Association (KUTA) Chaibasa — Dr. S.K. Singh and Dr. Indal Paswan, Vinoba Bhave University Teachers Association (VBUTA) Hazaribagh — Dr. K.K. Gupta and Dr. Binod Kumar, Binod Bihari Mahto Koylanchal University Teachers Association (BBMKUTA) Dhanbad — Dr. Amulya Suman Beck, and Sido Kanhu Murmu University Teachers Association (SKMUTA) Dumka — Dr. Santosh Kumar Sil, stressed that it is high time to revive the state body in the interest of university teachers.
Need for FUTAJ’s Revival Highlighted by Past Incidents
A senior university teacher pointed out that in the absence of an active FUTAJ, teachers’ office-bearers faced assaults by authorities at Kolhan University. At BBMKU, postgraduate teachers were locked inside the campus by the vice-chancellor, while at SKMU, the Chancellor’s office curtailed Sohrai festival leaves — yet no collective voice was raised against these actions.
Senior teachers emphasized that such incidents could have been prevented if FUTAJ had remained active. Though FUTAJ remained somewhat functional until 2023, it became completely defunct following the retirement of its then-president, Dr. N.K. Singh.
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First FUTAJ Election and Early Leadership
The first election of FUTAJ was held in 2013 at Sido Kanhu Murmu University (SKMU), Dumka. Dr. N.K. Singh (SKMU Dumka) and Dr. Mithilesh Singh (Ranchi University) were elected as president and secretary, respectively, for a two-year term.
However, within a year, FUTAJ secretary Dr. Mithilesh Kumar Singh was appointed principal at Vinoba Bhave University (VBU) Hazaribagh. Subsequently, the executive committee handed over the secretary’s responsibility to Dr. Rajkumar of Ranchi University.
Formation of FUTAJ After Jharkhand’s Creation
Following the creation of Jharkhand in 2000, the Bihar University Teachers Association had appointed veteran teacher leaders Dr. Baban Choubey (Ranchi) and Dr. K.K. Sharma (Dhanbad) as FUTAJ’s first president and secretary. They, along with zonal secretary Dr. P.K. Jha, Dr. B.N. Singh, Dr. Madhuban Jha, and others, conducted the first election of FUTAJ in 2013.
BBMKUTA’s Role and Efforts to Revive FUTAJ
Responding to Dr. N.K. Singh’s request, the then BBMKUTA secretary, Dr. Himanshu Shekhar Choudhary, had agreed to hold the next FUTAJ election at BBMKU. However, the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted these plans. The current BBMKUTA secretary, Dr. Beck, has expressed readiness to organize the election, provided all university teachers’ associations cooperate.
Former president Dr. N.K. Singh said he had made every effort to hold FUTAJ elections before his retirement in 2023 but was unable to succeed.
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Call for Unity Among Teachers
“FUTAJ must be active; otherwise, neither Raj Bhavan nor the universities will address teachers’ demands,” said Dr. N.K. Singh.
He appealed to teachers from all universities to elect leaders they trust for their honesty and commitment, emphasizing that an elected FUTAJ body could effectively address various pending issues, including promotions for the 2008 batch.
