HYDERABAD:Potti Sreeramulu Telugu University is in a mess. It has no money to pay even the salaries of its staff and faculty for this month.
With no funds from both State governments of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, the Telugu University is facing a severe financial crisis. “Unless we receive funds immediately, we are in position to pay the salaries for this month”, said a varsity official.
When the university had fallen short of funds in the beginning of the academic year, officials made use of UGC funds to pay the salaries. UGC funds were sanctioned for developmental activities and this helped officials cover payments for a few months. Now, they have reached a situation where the funds are literally nil.
As a result, various activities, including research and publications, have been severely affected. The School of Folk and Tribal Lore of the university at Warangal has stopped undertaking research a few months ago. It is the same with the university’s publication at the Hyderabad campus as well.
Even the university’s awards for best contribution in literature and arts such as Keerthi and Sahiti have been kept on hold as there is no money to pay for the cash prizes. Scholars who are supposed to receive around ` 8,000 under UGC norms are currently receiving a mere ` 1,000.
“The university doesn’t pay any stipend to the scholars”, said a senior administration official.