Future of Shimla varsity students hangs in balance
Subhash Rajta
Shimla, March 20
The future of around 500 students in APG University, a private university on the outskirts of Shimla, has come under cloud due to a dispute between the university and Canara Bank over the repayment of loan. The classes could not start at the university after the winter vacation on February 15 because the bank has locked the premises as the dispute with the university has remained unresolved. As a result, students have already missed out on one month of the academic session and no one knows when the classes would resume.
Reply Not satisfactory
- The classes could not start at the university after the winter vacation on February 15 as the bank has locked the premises
- There are around 500 students in the university, including some foreign students and many from various parts of the country
- Himachal Pradesh Private Educational Institutions Regulatory Commission says it has issued a notice to the university, but the latter has not provided any satisfactory answer
“We are also worried for the students. They should not suffer because of the dispute. Ideally, the academic activities should continue while the bank and the university try to reach some sort of agreement. If that’s not possible, the bank should allow the classes to run for at least this semester so that the students can seek migration to other universities from the next semester,” said a university faculty.
“The students have gone to the court. We are hoping the court will resolve the matter soon considering that the future of so many students is at stake,” said the faculty member. There are around 500 students in the university, including some foreign students from African countries and many from various parts of the country.
Himachal Pradesh Private Educational Institutions Regulatory Commission (HPPERC) says it has issued a notice to the university, but the latter has not provided any satisfactory answer till date. “We have not received a satisfactory response from the university yet. We have called them again on March 27 to apprise the commission of the latest update. If they don’t provide us any satisfactory answers in the next hearing, the commission will take action to protect the interests of the students,” said Lalit Kumar, Member, HPPERC.
Kumar further said that the commission had apprised the Secretary Education of the entire situation. “We have prepared a plan to protect the academic interests of the students if the deadlock between the bank and the university is not resolved. Migration of the students to other universities is one option,” said Kumar.
The other option being looked at is the continuation of the academic activities till the time all registered students pass out from the university. “It would be better if the academic activity continues till all the students pass out from the university. The bank and the university could continue negotiating during this period and beyond that. For us, the interests of the students are paramount,” said Kumar.
