The state education minister, Mr Partha Chatterjee, said on Saturday that the state government is “dead against” the practice of gherao in higher educational institutions.

In the last few months, the vice-chancellor of Jadavpur University and the registrar of Presidency University have been gheraoed for days by students over admission issues.

“We are dead against the practice of gherao of principals, VCs at the slightest pretext,” he told reporters, after a meeting with members of the TMC students’ wing, Trinamul Chhatra Parishad here.

Mr Chatterjee said former students should refrain from being part of the student units of their alma mater. He also said that every student should keep in mind that regular attendance is a must.

Though Mr Chatterjee on Saturday did not announce the name of TMCP state president, he said all the existing TMCP bodies in all 23 districts will be dissolved and new TMCP bodies will be formed. All former TMCP student leaders were asked to resign from their respective posts.

A core committee of the TMCP advisory committee has been formed and Mr Chatterjee was made its chairman, while MP Abhishek Banerjee is the co-chairman. The former TMCP president, Ms Jaya Dutta, was made the state level coordinator.

Meanwhile, chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday said that her government was committed to spread education among all sections of the people. “Today is International Literacy Day. The issue of literacy is a key component of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,” Banerjee wrote on her Twitter handle.

“Our Govt is committed to spreading the light of education among all,” she tweeted.

The UNESCO, in 1966, declared 8 September as the International Literacy Day.

“We will ask the colleges and universities to show no leniency to those who fail to meet the required percentage. We will recommend the authorities to deduct students’ marks in semester examinations if they fail to meet the minimum percentage figure of attendance,” she said.

The Calcutta University had in February disallowed some students of the Bengali Department from appearing in their semester examination after they failed to secure the stipulated 55 per cent attendance.