Protesters demand change in PU status, want it state varsity
Even as the Ministry of Education had stated in the Parliament a few days ago that the Centre had no plans to centralise Panjab University, student leaders of Panjab University Bachao Morcha, mainly SATH and Punjabnama (student parties), today announced that they aim to get the special status of PU changed to a state university of Punjab. As of now, the university enjoys a special status and is funded by both Central and Punjab government, with major chunk arriving from the Centre. For the financial year 2024-25, the Centre has granted Rs 366.83 crore, while the Punjab government has approved Rs 90.49 crore for the university.
As per the statement released by the morcha, they plan to constitute a committee at Punjab level, which shall work to get a resolution introduced in the Vidhan Sabha to change the structure of PU, declaring it as an institution of Punjab like Punjabi University, Patiala, and Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar. The morcha members said that the decision was taken after an all-party meeting attended by representatives of farmer organisations, including Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) general secretary Kushalpal Singh Mann, Ranjit Singh Raju of BKU (Rajasthan), Tejveer Singh of BKU Shaheed Bhagat Singh and Jarnail Singh of BKU Krantikari. The morcha members had extended invite to multiple MPs and MLAs also, but no elected representative turned up this time.
However, many students and campus leaders, including PUCSC members, said that the demand was irrational. “The universities which fall under the governance of Punjab government are already reeling under financial crunch and at multiple times have failed to pay teachers’ salaries. PU should be managed the way it is being managed by both Centre and Punjab,” said Avtar Singh, member of SOPU.
“It is not right to demand that the university should be brought solely under the ambit of Punjab. The university is situated in a Union Territory and the students studying here are not just from Punjab. We enjoy a special status, which should not be changed,” Panjab University Campus Student Council (PUCSC) president Anurag Dalal said on behalf of the council.
When asked about the development, PU Vice-Chancellor Renu Vig said that it was unfortunate that some nefarious elements were trying to create problems within the university. “Instead of falling prey to politics, the students should focus more on their studies and academics,” the VC added.
Most of the campus student parties, including the NSUI, SFS, ABVP and SOI, said that this was not the issue which concerned the students and focus of student politics should be on more constructive issues.
