Bhattacharjee later told Metro that since JU had been denied the status, the university would seek a refund as mandated by the application clause. Union junior education minister Sukanta Majumdar had earlier told the Rajya Sabha that chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s “apathy killed Jadavpur University’s IoE dream”. The Jadavpur University Teachers’ Association (JUTA), in a letter to Majumdar last year, said the requirement of a matching grant was never part of the original scheme and was introduced only later. The association also questioned why Jio Institute, a private university, was granted IoE status without similar conditions. “As it is now clear that JU will not be accorded the tag, we will write to the ministry seeking a refund,” Bhattacharjee said.

Source: The Telegraph February 08, 2026 22:51 UTC