Boiling down to the decision of withdrawing all funds from the 28 government funded colleges, the Delhi government gives out final command because of 11 months of communication yielding no good. Only if, the government says, the university constitutes governing bodies before that happening, this step can be held back. Discussing the delay as a “farcical” and “deliberate”, Deputy Chief Minister and Education Minister Manish Sisodia directed the Director (Higher Education) on Tuesday to communicate to the university that “all funds from the Government of NCT of Delhi shall be stopped if the governing bodies are not constituted by July 31, 2017.
Sisodia also commanded the Principal Secretary (Finance) to stop funds unless written communication is received from the Directorate of Higher Education that governing bodies have been constituted. Right from finance to introducing new courses, all decisions will be taken by these governing bodies. Each of these include members nominated by the Delhi government to the college.
There has been an order to the Finance Department to “issue written instructions to accounts officers of all departments concerned” — higher education, PWD, DTTDC — to “withhold funds” for colleges and all related projects “unless explicit instructions are issued to the contrary”. The funds constitute “salaries, contingency grants and any other expenditure being done on construction and maintenance of buildings”. DU has received a total of 11 written notices till now from the Delhi Government, yet, the command has not been followed.
Sisodia directed the education department with the description of the sequence of the events as “too much of a coincidence”, especially when the process of recruiting spur and regular teachers was going on. In his word, he stated it was “absolutely farcical” that the university has been procrastinating this important formation, and after five months of delaying, DU was “now setting up a Committee to review the panel of names sent by…itself”.
Topping everything, the ruling party argued that the Delhi University administration, under pressure from the Central government, was deliberately not constituted governing bodies of 28 colleges which are fully or partially aided by the Delhi government. Notably, 12 of 28 are fully funded and 16 others receive 5% grant from the government, remaining by the University Grants Commission (UGC).
AAP’s Ashutosh said, “In Delhi University, 28 colleges are either partially or fully funded by the Delhi government. In October 2016, the tenure of the previous governing bodies expired and yet, the university has not appointed new governing bodies.” Devesh Sinha, Dean of Colleges, said, “I have not received any letter from the Delhi government on this. But the thing is that governing bodies in the colleges will be constituted in just a few days.”
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