Vice-Chancellor Posts Vacant for Months at Ranchi University and DSPMU, Students’ Problems Mount Due to Academic Delays

Ranchi:
The prolonged absence of permanent Vice-Chancellors at Ranchi University and Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee University (DSPMU) has severely affected academic and administrative functioning at both institutions. Delays in completing academic sessions, examinations, and admission processes have left the future of thousands of students uncertain.

At Ranchi University, the post of Vice-Chancellor has remained vacant since the retirement of the incumbent VC Ajit Singh in June–July. Since then, the university has been functioning under acting Vice-Chancellors, with the position changing hands twice so far. Currently, Dhananjay Kumar Singh is serving as the acting Vice-Chancellor, while earlier the Vice-Chancellor of Nilamber-Pitamber University had been given the additional charge. In the absence of a permanent VC, several key decisions—such as conducting examinations, admissions to PhD programmes, and other administrative matters—remain pending. Many semester examinations are running far behind schedule. For the postgraduate batch of the 2024–26 session, only the first semester examination has been conducted so far, leading to growing resentment among students.

The situation at DSPMU is no different. Most academic sessions there are also running behind schedule. Shubham, a student of the Journalism Department at Ranchi University, said that waiting endlessly for examinations causes students to forget what they have studied. Due to delayed sessions, placements do not take place on time, allowing students from other universities to move ahead. He added that this problem exists across almost every department.

Ambesh Chaubey, a student of the Institute of Legal Studies at Ranchi University, described the situation as extremely alarming. He said that even in important departments and colleges such as the Law Department and Jagannathpur College, academic sessions are significantly delayed, which is having a serious impact on students’ futures.

Student organisations have also expressed strong reactions. Wasiem Ansari, a leader of the Adivasi Students’ Union, criticised the Vice-Chancellor of DSPMU, Dr. Dharmendra Kumar Singh, for not regularly visiting the university. He demanded the immediate implementation of the “one person, one post” rule and the announcement of student union elections.

Meanwhile, Abhishek Shukla of the Abua Adhikar Manch said that Ranchi University has been operating under an acting Vice-Chancellor for the past six months. The prolonged absence of regular leadership has directly affected thousands of enrolled students. Academic sessions across faculties are not being conducted on time, with several courses lagging by more than a year. He further pointed out that for the first time in the history of Ranchi University, the entire year 2025 has passed without even the commencement of the admission process for the postgraduate session 2025–27. This unprecedented delay has created an atmosphere of uncertainty and anxiety among students and aspirants preparing for higher education.