In a move aimed at tightening accountability and improving transparency in higher education, the department of higher education (DHE) has issued fresh directives to the principals of government-aided colleges across Punjab. The DHE has asked them to formally certify compliance with key academic, financial, and administrative norms.
The instructions place direct responsibility on college heads to ensure that regulations related to staff appointments, salaries, grants, and governance are strictly followed. As per the directive, principals of all government-aided colleges must submit detailed information on various aspects of college operations. This includes details of ad hoc appointments made against leave vacancies, confirmation that teaching staff are being paid salaries strictly as per the revised university grants commission (UGC) pay scales, and assurance that all grants released by the department are being utilised only for the period to which they pertain.
Colleges have also been directed to certify that essential records, such as account books, attendance registers, timetables, college prospectuses, and documents related to appointments, promotions, terminations, and the conversion or abolition of posts, are being properly maintained. Furthermore, service books and annual confidential reports (ACRs) of staff must be preserved as permanent records and made available for inspection and audit whenever required.
Additionally, principals must confirm that all assistant professors, associate professors, and principals possess the qualifications prescribed by their affiliating universities. The department has also sought certification that each faculty member for whom grants are claimed works 40 hours a week, with at least 20 hours spent on college premises for teaching-related duties. Explaining the rationale behind the move, Deepak Kapur, assistant director (grant-2) in the higher education department, said that the step was taken to institutionalise transparency and accountability. “The department has observed that irregularities are prevalent in several grant-in-aid colleges. This measure is meant to address those concerns. More changes will be introduced in due course,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}Additionally, principals must confirm that all assistant professors, associate professors, and principals possess the qualifications prescribed by their affiliating universities. The department has also sought certification that each faculty member for whom grants are claimed works 40 hours a week, with at least 20 hours spent on college premises for teaching-related duties. Explaining the rationale behind the move, Deepak Kapur, assistant director (grant-2) in the higher education department, said that the step was taken to institutionalise transparency and accountability. “The department has observed that irregularities are prevalent in several grant-in-aid colleges. This measure is meant to address those concerns. More changes will be introduced in due course,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}Reacting to the development, Tarun Ghai, president of the Association of United College Teachers (AUCT), said that the DHE letter clearly fixes responsibility on college principals. He pointed out that principals must now sign a certificate confirming compliance with 10 specific directives, including full salary payments, staff eligibility, teacher presence on campus, bank statements, government nominees in management, and records related to deficit grant claims. Ghai welcomed the letter as a long-overdue step toward ensuring accountability in aided colleges.