E-Paper
MDU employees await salaries as varsity struggles with shortage of funds
The employees have now threatened to shut down the varsity if their salaries are not paid by October 14.
The Maharishi Dayanand University (MDU) is struggling to pay salaries to its teaching and non-teaching staff due to shortage of funds amid the pandemic.
The employees have now threatened to shut down the varsity if their salaries are not paid by October 14.
Vikas Siwach, president of MDU Teachers Association, said, “The MDU employees have to bear all expenses but the varsity has failed to give this month’s salary to its employees. We have decided to lock the university if the authorities fail to give us our salary by October 14.”
“How will this varsity run if it doesn’t have funds to give salary to employees. This year seems to be very challenging for the authorities and they will have to reduce their expenses, or else the situation will get worse,” he said.
A professor, on condition of anonymity, said it is absolutely inhuman that they were forced to hold protest to get their monthly salary. “Over the years many courses through distance learning, which were also a major source of generating the revenue, were closed due to the varsity’s lackadaisical approach. The state varsities like MDU and Kurukshetra are grappling with financial crisis since long but the authorities and government is in deep slumber.”
“Why have the varsity authorities not taken measures to reduce their expenses and increase sources of income. The next three months are very crucial and challenging for the authorities,” he said, adding that besides salaries, the varsity is also struggling to maintain infrastructure and other facilities.
MDU registrar Gulshan Taneja said their monthly expenditure on salary payment is ₹12 crore.
“There are nearly 1,100 non-teaching employees and over 350 teaching employees. The government has approved our annual assistance fund of ₹103 crore but we are yet to receive it. Within two days, we will deposit salary in the accounts of C and D group employees by adjusting from other funds. The remaining employees’ salary will be disbursed by October 14. We have written a letter to the state government urging them to release the fund at the earliest,” he said.
He added that they have formed a committee to take proactive measures to reduce the varsity’s expenses and increase its income.
