Don’t admit students till statutes approved: Govt to Khalsa varsity

HIGHER EDUCATION DEPARTMENT ENQUIRED WHETHER VARSITY HAD STATUTES APPROVED BY STATE GOVERNMENT

CHANDIGARH/AMRITSAR: A day after Khalsa University, Amritsar, decided to go ahead with the admission process, the Punjab government on Thursday asked the varsity management to hold admissions till it gets its statutes approved.

The higher education department sent a communication to the university management on Thursday, enquiring whether it had got its statutes and regulations approved from the state government, sources said.

As per the Khalsa University Act, 2016, the governing body comprising the chancellor, vicechancellor, educationists, experts and secretary higher education, or his representative, is empowered to make statutes for smooth functioning of the university. These have to be submitted to the state government for nod.

A spokesman of the Khalsa College Governing Council (KCGC) said the management had not received any letter. Khalsa University registrar JS Dhillon also told HT that he had not received any communication from the higher education secretary in this regard.

“I was not in my office during the second half. I will let you know about it tomorrow,” he said. The varsity, which started its first session in August 2016, has been in the eye of a storm since KCGC initiated the move to set up the university.

Amarinder Singh, who was then Amritsar MP, had publicly questioned the move, saying it would subvert the “heritage status” of Khalsa College. As chief minister, he has declared that the government would scrap the Khalsa University legislation.

“We don’t want children to suffer. The university should not enrol new students until its own future is known,” he had said on Tuesday.