The state's Higher Education Department has said it wants to do away with students unions and replace them with an apolitical students council.
"I have been frequently emphasising the fact that the state will not alter its stand just because two-three persons demonstrate," Chatterjee said, referring to agitation by several Jadavpur University students unions regarding the issue.
"The government is a bigger thing, the government cannot be seen through narrow and small prism of interest. Everyone should think about the bigger cause and take appropriate decisions," he said at the Foundation Day celebration programme of St Xavier's University here.
They should either fall in line with the St Xavier's system or better it in terms of achieving excellence, the minister said, during his address at the new campus of the varsity, which had started functioning from July 2017.
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Urging the St Xavier's University to facilitate research activities, Chatterjee said, "Our government plans to set up a centre, where quality research papers on various subjects will be kept and that will also include innovation."
He said the state-run centre will be similar to those in different premier universities of the country, containing important works from researchers in different fields.
He said a proposal for setting up four new state-run universities would soon be placed in the Assembly.
Chatterjee said the West Bengal government had 4,55,677 seats in under-graduate and post-graduate levels together apart from engineering.
"We have given thrust on three Es - expansion for bringing higher education to our doorsteps, equality for reaching out to economically backward students and the girl child, and excellence," he said in his address.
"Unless we achieve excellence, our state won't be able to compete. All stakeholders should work towards enhancing the quality of education by putting thrust on infrastructure development," Chatterjee added.