7 technical colleges in Karjat barred from admitting students

Engineering, management, pharmacy colleges have defaulted on paying staffs’ salaries

The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), the apex body regulating technical education, last month barred seven colleges in Karjat from admitting students for the upcoming academic year.

The University of Mumbai (MU), too, had launched a probe into the matter. (HT FILE)

The colleges, run by Saraswati Education Society (SES), were being probed for non-payment of salary dues to more than 15,000 teaching and non-teaching staff for the past 20 months. Hundreds of teachers and staff of these institutes were on a strike to protest the delay.

The SES’s campus on Bhivpuri Road in Karjat has engineering, management and pharmacy colleges.

Nandkumar Tasgaonkar, chairman, SES couldn’t be reached for a comment.

After receiving a complaint from teachers, AICTE officials visited the SES campus to look into the allegations. A show-cause notice was issued to the management, asking it to explain the reason for non-payment of dues. The management representatives appeared before an AICTE committee to explain its position.

The University of Mumbai (MU), too, had launched a probe into the matter. With most staff members of the seven colleges on strike, the varsity had shifted the on-going semester examination to a nearby college.

While the teachers have welcomed the AICTE’s decision, they are not satisfied with MU’s actions. “Why is the university, which grants affiliation to these institutes, silent? There has been no action from the university despite the probe,” said Vaibhav Narawade, president, Mumbai University and College Teachers’ Association (MUCTA), which is leading the strike.

Earlier this year, the apex body had also put 22 colleges run by Sinhgad Technical Education Society (STES) in the no admission category. Facing a financial crisis, the management was unable to pay the salaries of 5,000 teaching and 3,000 non-teaching staff for 17 months. However, the Bombay high court in February issued a stay on the order.