NEW DELHI: Despite “several” letters written to the University of Delhi by its Law Faculty over three years raising concerns from the students about “unfunctional” air-conditioners and “un-updated” computers; and “rending” seats, the administration has not sanctioned the required expenditure of Rs 76,00,000, authorities said.
Deputy librarian Rajesh Singh told this newspaper that the matters were reposted in the library committee and pursuant to its recommendations, a proposal for grant of Rs 76,00,000 was submitted.“Students have been raising these issues for a long time. We have written to the university three to four times since 2016, when the issues came to our knowledge,” he said. The latest request made to the varsity, he said, was in March this year.
“The Dean (planning) submitted our request to the UGC. Huge expenditure is required. Once the university generates funds, we will make the necessary changes,” said Singh. Asked about the development fund, which gets deducted from every student’s fee, he said: “We have written about the development fund as well.”
In one of the letters, written to the authorities, the faculty has informed that 10 air-conditioners were purchased and installed in 2006.
“They have been reported out of order and beyond repair since April 2017. Similarly, the library computing facilities including the server were also purchased long back and are too slow and become out of order every now and then,” the letter said.“Even the server of bibliographic records is presently out of order. The library is facing acute shortage of space. The number of reading seats available is too limited,” it added.
Explaining the issue, a student activist from the law faculty, who requested anonymity, said that there was a “huge need” to repair and update all the computers.“We do not have access to the legal websites, whose subscription is provided to us by the university. It costs exorbitantly,” the 23-year-old student said.
He further said that seats in the library were “not proportionate to the number of the students and we facing huge trouble because of it especially during the exam team”. “There is a need to change furniture types so that the number of seats can be increased,” he stressed. Phone calls and text messages to the Vice-chancellor’s office and the Registrar for a comment on this piece went unanswered.