“Why should Bengal’s students run to Chicago and Harvard when we can create Chicago- and Harvard-like universities here?” said West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in January 2017, as she launched a university similar to the Visva-Bharati University in Santiniketan. However, almost a decade later, the TMC supremo’s ‘dream’ universities are turning out to be a project that received little efforts and yielded negligent results, as around 7 of these universities are operating out of temporary premises.
None of these varsities have permanent faculty. An Indian Express ground investigation revealed that most of these varsities depend on guest faculty working at the UGC-mandated rate of Rs 500 per class. Between 2017-18, the TMC government had set up 11 new universities across Darjeeling, Alipurduar, Balurghat, Murshidabad, Hooghly, Nadia, North 24 Parganas, Jhargram, Paschim Medinipur, Howrah and Birbhum. Classes in these varsities began by 2021, and it was only in January 2026, that they (except the Darjeeling Hill University) obtained got statutory recognition to award degrees.
An IE team visited these 11 universities and made shocking discoveries that expose the hollowness of CM Banerjee promise of making West Bengal a hub of Chicago and Harvard-like universities.
“Currently, around 17,000 students are enrolled across eight of these universities, with three not sharing their exact numbers,” the Indian Express reported.
Dakshin Dinajpur University began classes in 2021, offering postgraduate courses for English, Political Science, and Maths. By 2022, 105 students got admission but 69 left. In 2023, 133 got admission but 92 dropped out. In 2025, only 105 students took admission, leaving about 250 students on its rolls, IE reports.
The varsity lacks permanent faculty and infrastructure. It has only 21 guest lecturers who teach in 6 makeshift classrooms. Dakshin Dinajpur University has 11.07-acre plot earmarked for a permanent campus just 2 km away, however, cows graze on the vacant land currently.
Local MLA and Consumer Affairs Minister Biplab Mitra blames the power tussle between Governor C.V. Ananda Bose and the TMC government for the delay in the varsity’s construction. Notably, the governor is the ex officio Chancellor of all state-aided universities, while the Chief Minister is authorised to finalise the appointments of teachers. The Mamata Banerjee-led government is embroiled in controversy over alleged teacher recruitment scams.
Similar is the story of Mahatma Gandhi University, Mahishadal, Kanyashree University, Nadia, Rani Rashmoni Green University, Singur, Darjeeling Hill University, Jogighat, Hindi University, Howrah, Harichand Guruchand University, Thakurnagar, among others. These varsities started off with 100, 200, with a few even having 1000 admissions, however, within a few years, these numbers dwindled due to lack of proper infrastructure and permanent faculty.
