Twelve govt.-funded DU colleges face money crunch

Institutions caught in DU-AAP govt. tussle over formation of governing bodies

The deadlock between Delhi University and the AAP government over the formation of governing bodies has left 12 colleges in the lurch.

The colleges are fully funded by the government, which has not released the first installment of funds.

Deen Dayal Upadhyaya College principal Hemchand Jain said salaries of the staff were being paid from previous year’s grant and students’ fees. However, these internal resources have been exhausted, he added.

Without funds, the college will not be able to pay utility charges or salaries to contractual staff among others from the next month, he added.

A similar situation persists at Bhaskaracharya College of Applied Sciences, where the principal, Balaram Pani, said funds are not available for lab equipment. The college is not prepared for admissions season, where ₹40,000 worth of stationery will be employed, he said, adding that the salaries of ad hoc teachers were not paid this month. At Indira Gandhi Institute of Physical Education & Sports Sciences, the college authorities said they were able to pay salaries for May but will find it difficult to meet liabilities in June.

One of the DU principal, on the condition of anonymity, said the government was seeking to interfere in the day-to-day functioning of the colleges.

The current issue is over finalisation of nominees to the governing bodies of these colleges.

Another principal said in the fight between the university and the government, it is unfortunate that the colleges are suffering.

‘Proposal at final stage’

A university official said the proposal for governing body nominees was at a final stage of the government and is expected to be passed before the end of this month.

Meanwhile, during admission season, expenses at colleges tend to rise with the need to employ extra security guards to help handle the crowd, increased stationery expenses and other preparations for new students. These expenses will be higher this year with the university expected to take in close to 63,000 students in order to account for 10% EWS reservations.

The 12 colleges, which are fully funded by the Delhi government include Acharya Narendra Dev College, Aditi Mahavidyalaya, Bhagini Nivedita College, Bhaskaracharya College of Applied Sciences, Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar College, Deen Dayal Upadhyaya College, Indira Gandhi Institute of Physical Education & Sports Sciences, Keshav Mahavidyalaya, Maharshi Valmiki College of Education, Shaheed Rajguru College of Applied Science, Maharaja Agrasen College and Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies.

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