State plans common finance code for 13 universities

The state higher and technical education department has decided to introduce a common audit and finance code for all 13 universities under its jurisdiction, to improve uniformity in financial administration.

The state higher and technical education department has decided to introduce a common audit and finance code for all 13 universities under its jurisdiction, to improve uniformity in financial administration.

State plans common finance code for 13 universities

At present, each university has its own finance code and financial procedures. According to government officials, the new code will help streamline financial management, establish common standards and ensure better monitoring of funds.

In the first phase, audits will be carried out at SNDT Women’s University, Yashwantrao Chavan Maharashtra Open University and Savitribai Phule Pune University. The audit will cover financial transactions and administrative processes from the financial years 2021-22 to 2025-26.

It will cover verification of student admission records and fee collection, examination of scholarships and concessions, and identification of possible revenue leakages.

Procurement and vendor payments will be examined; and infrastructure projects, renovation work and capital expenditure will be reviewed. It will assess the utilisation of research grants, government funding, and endowment funds. It will also examine areas such as reserved category admissions, examination fraud and others.

Arun Sawant, former pro-vice chancellor of Mumbai University says using a common audit and finance code could compromise the administrative autonomy of universities. “Universities already have established mechanisms such as finance committees, purchase committees and building committees to oversee financial matters.”

While the government has every right to verify the utilisation of funds it provides, it should not interfere in matters relating to funds generated and managed by the universities themselves as they already have their own auditing systems, he said.

Defending the initiative, director of higher education, Shailendra Devlankar, said the proposed finance code would enhance transparency in the utilisation of public funds. He said the exercise is not intended to interfere but to ensure that public money is utilised properly.