12 DU colleges decry ‘deliberate’ delay in release of funds by Delhi govt

NEW DELHI:  As many as 12 colleges of the Delhi University funded by the Delhi government are facing a serious fund crunch, and this has drastically impacted the quality of education imparted to students admitted there, alleged a delegation of Delhi University Principals’ Association who met the L-G on Thursday.

Principals of these colleges accused the Arvind Kejriwal-led-Delhi government of ‘deliberately stalling the release of funds’ which has resulted in non-payment of salaries, infrastructural development, and creation of new faculty posts apart from running day-to-day operations, the officials said.

The crunch of funds is so serious that many colleges received disconnection notices from agencies providing civic amenities like water, electricity and telephonic communication. “Late payment penalties are being imposed by DJB, BSES, NDPL, MTNL and others. Some colleges even received disconnection notices due to non-payment of bills on time,” a senior official said.

According to officials, the salaries of staff have been delayed by up to 5 months besides stopping the development works. “In many colleges, the PWD stopped doing any work due to non-sanction of funds. No new projects are being undertaken. As a result, college buildings are in depleted conditions,” the official said. Meanwhile, the non-sanction of faculty posts is affecting the conduct of new courses.

“Some colleges are underutilising the physical capacity, but due to non-sanction of teaching and non-teaching posts, the colleges are not able to start new courses and increase students’ enrollment,” added the official.