Higher edu dept initiates CAG audits for colleges, univs
Times of India | 15 July 2026
Kolkata: The higher education dept has written to the state govt on Tuesday, requesting for CAG audits at universities and state-aided colleges.
Higher education minister Jagannath Chattopadhyay told TOI, “We have received numerous complaints on financial and other irregularities from various universities. Consequently, we are going to start CAG audits for these institutions. Our dept has written to the state govt and will launch the process soon.”
Another reason for conducting the financial audit is to comply with the state’s white paper policy and present the findings before the Constitutional Corruption Commission.
“Those who are found guilty following the CAG audit should be ready to face the consequences. Even institutional heads or former heads will not be spared if they are found guilty,” Chattopadhyay added.
During the tenure of the previous govt, the former education minister, a former VC and SSC chairperson, the former president of the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education, and other prominent officials were jailed in connection with a cash-for-jobs scam. Minister Chattopadhyay highlighted that their primary goal is to establish corruption-free higher education campuses. He emphasized that the recruitment process in higher education would be completely free and fair, and no political personalities would be allowed in the governing bodies.
Chattopadhyay said the dept’s ultimate aim is to free higher education institutions, including the governing bodies of state-aided colleges, from political influence. He said, “We are actively working on this. As the CM stated, we are determined to insulate our educational institutions from political influence to ensure quality education for students. While we have the necessary infrastructure in both govt and aided institutions, the primary gap was proper monitoring, which we will address shortly. Political functionaries will no longer have a place in these governing bodies. The dept will release formal guidelines regarding by next week.”
He stated that there were many private institutions functioning across the state to sell out degrees instead of providing a quality education. “This will not be tolerated anymore. The govt will only consider to hold student elections after streamlining higher education system in Bengal and getting students back into the classrooms.”