Patiala A three-member high-level committee constituted to suggest measures to improve the functioning of Punjabi University will hold a key meeting on October 29 (Thursday). The committee was mandated to submit its report within a month of its formation on August 11, but it missed the deadline due to covid-19 pandemic and the admission process at the varsity.
The committee comprises state additional chief secretary (revenue) Viswajeet Khanna; state higher education secretary Rahul Bhandari and vice-chancellor BS Ghuman. Bhandari said the committee is compiling its report, which will soon be submitted to the state government.
“We will hold a meeting on Thursday in which issues concerning the varsity will be discussed comprehensively,” Bhandari said.
The committee, which was formed with the approval of the chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh, is mandated to thoroughly work upon improving the fiscal health of the university, which is presently in doldrums, as it has been toiling hard to meet its committed expenditure.
According to budgetary proposals for this fiscal, the varsity expects an income of ₹380 crore, with expenditure at ₹676 crore, leaving a massive ₹296-crore deficit. Bhandari said the committee had held several meetings and was looking minutely at the record the varsity had submitted to them.
As per the notification that the state government had issued, the committee aims to suggest measures on the optimisation of salary budget, quality of staff and courses that the university offers. These steps will result in increase in revenues, rationalisation of pay scales and pension benefits for faculty and staff, based on the guidelines of the Punjab government.
{{/usCountry}}As per the notification that the state government had issued, the committee aims to suggest measures on the optimisation of salary budget, quality of staff and courses that the university offers. These steps will result in increase in revenues, rationalisation of pay scales and pension benefits for faculty and staff, based on the guidelines of the Punjab government.
{{/usCountry}}For other administrative areas, the committee is expected to call for a review of courses and consequent rationalisation (including redeployment) of faculty within and across departments. Reforms in the working of constituent colleges, regional centres and neighbourhood campuses is also on the agenda.
The notification states that the committee will also review the system of admission and examination and suggest reform measures. It will also examine the current use of information technology in pedagogy, including digital delivery of content, and academic management of courses.
NO DECISION ON SPECIAL
GRANT OF Rs 20 CRORE
The state government is yet to take any decision on special grant of Rs 20 crore that the varsity has sought for payment of salaries and pensions to employees.
“Officials from departments of finance and higher education department are looking into the matter. This is not for the first time that the varsity has sought special grant. In July, the government provided Rs 20 crore. This was on the condition that the institution should first put its house in order before asking for funds again,” an official said.