Will request Governor to relieve me of HPU addl charge: Central varsity VC

SP Bansal, Vice-Chancellor, Central University of Himachal Pradesh (CUHP), Dharamsala, today said that he would soon meet the Governor and request to relieve him of the additional charge of the VC of Himachal Pradesh University (HPU). Bansal has also been holding the additional charge of the Vice-Chancellor of the HPU since 2022 after then Vice-Chancellor Sikandar Kumar took voluntary retirement to contest the Rajya Sabha elections.

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While addressing a press conference held here today, the VC said that he has requested Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu regarding the same. “I am feeling overburdened and I also have to look after the responsibilities of the Central University. Therefore, I will request him to relieve me of this additional charge,” said Prof Bansal.

Reflecting on his tenure, the he said that during the past three years the university has witnessed progress in academics, research and in infrastructure development.

Speaking about the implementation of New Education Policy (NEP) in the university, he said, “The University is fully prepared to implement the NEP 2020, which will be introduced in the academic session 2025-26. This will include the introduction of a four-year undergraduate degree programme, the concept of Multiple Entry and Exit System (MEES) and the establishment of an Academic Bank of Credit.”

He also said that the university has received a grant of Rs 100 crore grant under the Multi-Disciplinary Education and Research Universities (MERU), the funds of which are being used for development of various infrastructures.

“The construction of the Phase-II multi-storey academic block costing Rs 9.5 crores is in its final stages and will be handed over to students and faculty in the next academic session. Another new academic building will be constructed in place of the old dispensary, with Rs 8.25 crores allocated for its development. The construction of a modern digital library, funded with Rs 10.16 crore, will also begin soon. Additionally, Rs 3.04 crore has been allocated for a new academic building for the UILS Evaluation Department with construction set to begin shortly,” he said.

Highlighting HPU’s academic and research achievements, Prof Bansal said that over the past three years, 1294 research papers were published and in the last five years, faculty members published 467 books and book chapters. “Additionally, 14 patents were granted and one start-up was incubated. The university has earned Rs 76,40,901 from 14 consultancy projects and about Rs 4.36 crores from 44 externally funded research projects. Approximately Rs 77.62 lakhs were spent on organising seminars, workshops and conferences, while Rs 5.12 crore was allocated to strengthen library and laboratory resources. Excluding salaries, Rs 49.27 crores were spent on expanding and maintaining academic and research infrastructure.