DU approves names for govt-funded colleges

NEW DELHI: Delhi University has given ‘in principle’ approval to names of experts sent by Delhi government for constituting governing bodies (GB) in 28 colleges funded by it, ending an over year long tussle between the university and the state government.

The names were approved during an emergency meeting of the university executive council (EC) on Thursday morning.

Twelve out of the 28 colleges are fully funded by the government.

Trouble started in September last year when the government withheld funds from the colleges after July as the colleges had no GBS for over ten months at that time. GBS play an important role in functioning of a college, including in the appointment process.

Since then the government has released funds for two months as an interim measure, however, some colleges said they do not have funds to pay salaries for month of February while others

said they have managed to pay salaries this month but won’t be able to do it for March.

“EC appointed committee gave in-principle clearance to the names sent by Delhi government. We hope now the government will release funds so that colleges can function without problems,” said AK Bhagi, an EC member.

Another EC member said five names were not approved as they did not fulfil the requirement of the university. “Another 25-30 names did not have complete details of their addresses and affiliations so the government has been asked to provide the details,” said Rajesh Jha, an EC member.

Jha said after the government furnishes all details, the names will be sent to the respective colleges. “We demand to complete the whole process swiftly so that the hardships faced by the employees could be mitigated and normalcy to the college governance could be restored,” he said.

Officials said that GB of each college consists of a total of 15 members and one non-teaching staff member. Out of the total, five are recommended by government and five by the university, officials said.