Govt appoints special nominees in 28 colleges

Sanjeev Singh Bariana

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 8

Citing a huge drop in student enrolment and discrepancies in campus management, the office of the Director, Public Instructions (DPI) (Colleges) has appointed special nominees on the management committees of as many as 28 colleges in the state which are availing the benefits of grant-in-aid from the Punjab Government.

The communication said: “Any resolution passed by the college management committee in the absence of the government nominee will not be implemented.” The state has total 136 private colleges availing the grant-in-aid from the government. The letter from the DPI (Colleges) said the department received a number of complaints against the college managements. The nominees have been given the task of maintaining the standard of education and proper utilistion of grants.

The colleges on the list compiled by the DPI office include Guru Nanak College (Ludhiana), Arya College (Ludhiana), Khalsa College (Amritsar), Khalsa College (Patiala), MM Modi College (Patiala), DAV College (Bathinda), DAV College (Jalandhar), DAV College (Amritsar), DM College (Moga), Lyalpur Khalsa College (Jalandhar) and SD College (Barnala), besides others.

Reacting to the development, Officiating Principal of DAV College, Bathinda, Prof Parveen K Garg said, “The drop in the number of students is not limited to only the colleges on the list. This is a widespread phenomenon in the wake of students going abroad and many going in for alternative courses in professional colleges of the state. The decision is arbitrary and we will take it up with our management.”

Principal of Khalsa College, Amritsar, Dr Mehal Singh said, “The development looks very odd. Colleges are already getting a reduced grant share of just 75 per cent of the budget against the original provision of 95 per cent. Colleges are facing a new set of challenges in a changed ground situation. We were not even getting new teachers and had to approach the court. In fact, the funding of college education needs to be reworked entirely. I will be able to communicate our reaction only after a discussion with the management.”

DPI (Colleges) Paramjit Singh said the decision had been taken as per the provisions of a government decision in 1979. “Majority of these are big colleges. We were getting numerous complaints regarding the college administrations and falling standards of education. There were also complaints from teachers,” he added.

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