Edu minister slams AAP after CAG flags lapses in Delhi govt-run varsities

Education Minister Ashish Sood criticized the previous AAP-led Delhi government for financial mismanagement and academic failures in state universities, citing a CAG report.

Education minister Ashish Sood on Friday said the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report on functioning of state-run universities flags financial mismanagement and academic failures during tenure of the previous Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-led Delhi government.

Education minister Ashish Sood (HT Photo)

A performance audit on the functioning of universities under the Government of NCT of Delhi (GNCTD) tabled in the Assembly on Monday flagged irregularities across academic, administrative and financial domains, pointing at systemic gaps in planning, staffing, infrastructure and governance between 2018 and 2023.

The audit, covering Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University (GGSIPU), Delhi Technological University (DTU) and Delhi Pharmaceutical Sciences and Research University (DPSRU), found that neither the Department of Higher Education (DHE) nor the Directorate of Training and Technical Education (DTTE) had framed comprehensive policies aligned with their stated vision.

Speaking in the Delhi Assembly on Friday, Sood said the report clearly indicates that announcements were made without adequate groundwork.

“It is surprising to note that Delhi Teachers University was established but continues to function from a school building even today. Across three universities, there are only three students enrolled in total, and even last year, the number was merely 20,” he alleged.

“Delhi chief minister Rekha Gupta has now set up a committee for formulation of curriculum for Sports University.”

Further, he added that Delhi Skill and Entrepreneurship University saw polytechnics merged into it, but today students and teachers are on strike, degrees are being questioned, and employees face uncertainty.

The report highlights a 16-year failure in the admission system, with no clear admission or migration policy, he claimed. It also flags that for five years, audited accounts were not presented, funds were misused, EWS money diverted, and scholarships not utilised properly, the minister said.