Students protest, seek grants for cash-strapped Punjabi University, Patiala

Patiala, February 21

Ahead of the Punjab Budget, students at Punjabi University today launched a protest and shut the university gates, seeking grants for the cash-strapped university.

Students said the protest was organised on International Mother Language Day to bring to light the dismal financial condition of one of the two universities named after a language.

Students worried

Advertisement

The government has completed a year in power but is yet to bail the university out of its fiscal mess. The students are concerned about the university’s future. Prof Pankaj Mohindru, Faculty member

Failed to fix financial mess

University is named after a language. While state govt claims to be making efforts to propagate Punjabi language, it has failed to get it out of financial mess despite giving repeated assurances. Rashpinder Singh, A representative of PRSU

The students associated with the All-India Students Federation (AISF), Punjab Students’ Union (PSU), Students’ Federation of India (SFI), Punjab Students’ Union Lalkar, and Punjab Radical Students’ Union (PRSU) shut the gates and held a protest from 8 am to 12 pm.

Faculty members and other non-teaching employees failed to enter the premises for their duties.

No classes were held throughout the day.

The students demanded the waiver of university’s Rs 150 crore bank loan, an increase in its monthly grants, recruitment of teaching and other employees at its constituent colleges, construction of new hostels, increase in library budget and a separate budget for constituent colleges.

Rashpinder Singh, a representative of the PRSU, said the protest was organised on International Mother Language Day today to bring to light the fiscal condition of the university as “Punjabi University is one of the two universities named after a language world over. While the state government is claiming that it is making efforts to proliferate Punjabi language, it has failed to get the university out of the financial burden despite issuing repeated assurances.”

The state government is supposed to hold the state budget session in the last week of this month.

Prof Pankaj Mohindru said, “The government has completed a year in power but is yet to bail the university out of its fiscal mess. The students are concerned about the university’s future.”

Fiscal condition

As per the university’s budget estimates for the session 2022-23, it is expected to remain in a deficit of Rs 206 crore. The state government had in 2022 implemented the new pay scales for the teaching and non-teaching employees, which raised the university’s bar of expenditure by Rs 100 crore a year. The university has been awaiting an increase in grant promised by Chief Minister during his two recent visits to the university.