NEW DELHI: The Delhi government has released around Rs 100 crore for 12 Delhi University (DU) colleges funded by it, the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) announced on Sunday.
According to the party, the government has made a budgetary provision of approximately Rs 400 crore for the colleges for the financial year 2024-25. The latest funding is for the third quarter, it added.
The government released Rs 100 crore for the colleges in April last year, while the second tranche of Rs 100 crore was granted this July.
According to officials, Chief Minister Atishi approved the funds to address ongoing financial constraints that have hindered operations and affected the benefits for faculty and staff.
Since the AAP came to power in the national capital, the budget allocated to these colleges has increased more than threefold, demonstrating the government’s commitment to education, a party release stated.
Emphasising that the party has always stood for quality education, Chief Minister Atishi said, “Under the guidance of Arvind Kejriwal, education has always been the top priority for the AAP government. Since the formation of Kejriwal’s government in Delhi, the largest share of the budget has been dedicated to education every year.”
“The Delhi government has focused on higher education by opening three new universities and expanding the existing ones. The 12 fully funded Delhi University colleges play a crucial role in higher education in Delhi,” she asserted.
The colleges that received funding include Acharya Narendra Dev College, Aditi Mahavidyalaya, Bhagini Nivedita College, Bhaskaracharya College, Deen Dayal Upadhyaya College, Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar College, Indira Gandhi Institute of Physical Education and Sports Sciences, Keshav Mahavidyalaya, Maharaja Agrasen College, Maharishi Valmiki College, Shaheed Rajguru College, and Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies. The funding for these colleges has tripled since the AAP came to power in Delhi, the statement claimed.
In 2014-15, these colleges were allocated Rs 132 crore, which has now increased to approximately Rs 400 crore in the current financial year, the statement added.
Despite several financial mismanagement issues, the AAP government has decided that teachers and students should not bear the brunt of management or administrative errors, the Chief Minister asserted.