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PU affiliation to Haryana colleges: Dhankhar steps in, says will meet Punjab CM
Stating that he will himself work to bring funding to the university, the Vice-President of India said he will meet the Punjab CM to discuss the affiliation issue
Vice-President of India and Panjab University chancellor Jagdeep Dhankhar brought up the issue of affiliation to Haryana colleges while speaking at the fourth global alumni meet held at the varsity on Saturday.
Stating that he will himself work to bring funding to the university, V-P Dhankhar said he will meet the Punjab CM to discuss the affiliation issue.
“Haryana used to be a part of Punjab. Affiliation of colleges was given earlier. I will myself interact with the chief minister of Punjab and convince him to do this consensually,” said the V-P.
The affiliation issue has remained a bone of contention between the two states, with Haryana offering to bear up to 40% of the total annual expenses of the cash-strapped university in exchange for affiliation to some of the colleges in Ambala, Panchkula and Yamunanagar districts and Punjab refusing to budge from its stance that the varsity belongs to it alone.
Three meetings chaired by Punjab governor Banwarilal Purohit with the chief ministers of Punjab and Haryana to discuss the issue had remained inconclusive. Punjab had criticised the meetings, stating that the suggested move was akin to diluting its claim over Chandigarh.
After the meeting on June 5, Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann had said, “I categorically conveyed in the meeting that there is no scope for inclusion of Haryana in running of the Panjab University, as Punjab is self-sufficient to run the university, which is a symbol of Punjab’s culture, ethos, traditions and literature.”
At the time of the reorganisation of the state of Punjab in 1966, PU was declared an “inter-state body corporate” under Section 72 (1) of the Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966, enacted by the Parliament. Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar had said in the meetings that under the Punjab Reorganisation Act, the colleges and regional centres of Haryana were affiliated to PU. However, the arrangement was withdrawn by Haryana in 1973.
Citing the National Education Policy and quoting instances of how some colleges are even getting affiliated with international universities, Khattar had said that Haryana colleges should again be affiliated with PU.
Boon or bane?
While PU authorities have steered clear of commenting on this issue, the senators had, moments before the June senate meeting got-off, unanimously reiterated that the varsity will always belong to Punjab. Some officials have also pointed out that should Haryana colleges get affiliated with PU, they will also demand seats in the PU senate. And would Haryana be asked to make the same payment as Punjab, they may seek the same number of seats as Punjab in the PU governing body, thus leading to problems. Further Haryana officials hadn’t commented on whether they will make Punjabi a compulsory in their colleges, something that PU-affiliated colleges in Punjab are required to do. Officials said this may trigger an SYL-type standoff, which will eventually affect the students and faculty. Others, however, maintain the funds can be used to run the university.
In 2016, the Punjab and Haryana high court had taken suo motu cognisance over PU’s poor financial health. It was then that Haryana had first offered this possibility, through a submission made by its advocate general in 2017.
PU needs a robust
alumni network: V-P
Speaking about how the alumni of PU have served on high positions such as President, Prime Minister and Chief Justice, and thus the varsity should be ranked among the best in India.
He, however, pointed out that PU lacks a robust alumni network. “PU alumni networks exist in fragments. It is time to come together on one platform globally. Global universities like the Ivy League universities thrive on the strength of their alumni. The same should happen for PU,” he said.
He also said he felt sad about Indians pledging money to foreign universities instead of their own universities.
