Chandigarh: The Haryana government’s plan to wean off state universities from state funds in order to make them self-sufficient has drawn sharp criticism from a section of the teaching fraternity.
Teacher associations representing state universities are contending that education will become costly as well as make it out of reach of the people and eventually lead to the privatisation of universities.
In a letter to the vice-chancellors of these universities, the Principal Secretary of Higher Education had asked the universities to generate their own funds from alumni, CSR, utilisation of land, public-private projects, research grants, patents etc.
“…the government has desired that all the universities move towards self-sufficiency and reduce dependence on the government for funds. Towards this, the universities shall raise funds from alumni, corporate social responsibility, private-public projects, research grants, patents, communication of unutilized land of the universities, online education and distance education, encourage industry-academia collaboration, and promote entrepreneurship, etc.,” the letter, dated, 29 May reads.
“The state universities may generate revenue from certain inherent internal resources as all the state universities have complete infrastructure and adequate land,” it adds.
Overall, Haryana has 21 public universities, 1 central university, 24 private universities and 10 deemed to be universities.
The universities were also advised to share their five-year plans for achieving self-sufficiency and to raise funds for reducing dependency on state grants.
Among the suggestions shared with the universities are encouraging self-financing courses, strengthening research and development, encouraging industry academia collaboration, and promoting entrepreneurship.
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What associations are saying
Kurukshetra University Teachers Association (KUTA) secretary Jitender Khatkar gave details of the university receipts to contend that state-run higher education seats were already facing issues related to funds.
In the 2022-23 budget estimates of Kurukshetra University, Khatkar said, the income from internal receipts was Rs 146.96 crore but it was reduced to Rs 107.72 crore in the revised estimates.
As the revised expenditure from internal receipts excluding salary and pension was Rs 129.95 crore, the university was falling short of Rs 22.23 crore.
In the Self-Financing Scheme (SFS) as well, the university has shown receipts of Rs 34.79 crore in its budget estimates for 2023-24, but the expenditure is shown as Rs 59.48 crore, thereby a deficit of Rs 24.69 crore in 2023-24.
Moreover, Rs 50.58 crore from the outlay of Rs 59.48 crore is required alone for the salary of SFS staff.
The scheme is meant for teaching and non-teaching staff and for running affairs of self-financed courses and programmes established and introduced under the rules of the university.
While the total requirement for recurring grants in aid is Rs 406.27 crore, the government only approved Rs 352.09 crore leading to a shortfall of Rs 54.18 crore.
It is for this paucity of funds that the KUTA is demanding that the Harayana government should grant a special package of Rs 500 crore to Kurukshetra University, Khatkar said.
Maharishi Dayanand University Teachers Association (MDUTA) and Haryana Federation of Universities and Colleges Teachers’ Organisation (HFUCTO) president Vikas Siwach said it’s not for the first time that such a letter has come from the BJP-led government. Earlier, it was said that universities will get loans instead of grants, he said.
The letter indicates that the government is bent upon destroying public-funded education in Haryana, be it schools, colleges, or universities, Siwach told ThePrint.
“This move will force the public universities to raise fee structure to be self-reliant, which will impact lower and middle strata of the society whose sons and daughters will get deprived of higher education,” he said, adding that this is another move to privatise these institutions.
Both teaching and non-teaching staff of all the state universities are disturbed as this is a big setback from a government that is collecting heavy taxes along with an education cess, Siwach told ThePrint after presiding over HFUCTO’s online meeting Monday to discuss the letter issued by the Haryana Higher Education Department.
“The House condemned the letter noting that the government is shirking away from its social responsibility of providing quality higher education opportunities to the talented youth from weaker sections because the implementation of this order would lead to an imminent increase in fees for various courses from 100 percent to 200 percent,” he said.
The government is offering 40 percent funds to Punjab University and transferring the affiliation of colleges under the well-established Kurukshetra University while depriving the well-established state universities of funds, the HFUCTO head said.
Haryana Higher Education Minister Mool Chand Sharma, meanwhile, described the order as a step in the right direction.
“All top universities globally and premier institutes of the country like IITs have already done this. This will not only make the universities self-reliant, but will also help in strengthening research activities, increase industry-academia connections and prompt faculty to develop more patents,” he told The Print over the phone.
Sharma said that when the universities start generating their own resources for sustenance, this will inculcate values of entrepreneurship among students.
This was the idea of CM Manohar Lal Khattar who is keen that students should not only get degrees but also learn all kinds of skills that are important in life, he asserted.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
Source: The Print
