Punjab University (PU), Chandigarh, which has been among the premier educational institutes of the country for decades, continues to face a financial crunch along with several other problems simultaneously for a long time. It can be gauged from the ongoing scenario that PU is crawling on the financial front, finding itself unable to pay the salaries of the staff, which has humiliated the institute so many times. In this series, the Haryana government is constantly trying to get its colleges affiliated with PU, which fall in districts adjoining the state capital Chandigarh, so that the students studying in these districts can avail of quality education.
Pertaining to this, Punjab Governor and UT Administrator, Banwarilal Purohit, chaired a meeting with Haryana Chief Minister, Manohar Lal, and Punjab Chief Minister, Bhagwant Mann, here on Thursday, regarding various issues related to Panjab University, Chandigarh.
In this series, a new twist surfaced after the teachers and non-teaching staff of Kurukshetra University (KUK) expressed strong objections to getting Haryana›s colleges affiliated with PU. In a meeting held recently pertaining to the issue, it was apprised that affiliating the colleges of Yamunanagar, Ambala, and Panchkula with PU would not be a considerable step as KUK is already struggling on economic fronts. The state university continues to face a financial crunch. Thus, getting Haryana›s colleges affiliated with the PU would result in decreased revenue for the institute, and on the other hand, in return, the Haryana government would give an additional grant to Punjab University.
While reacting to the issue, Dr. Jitendra Khatkar, who holds the portfolio of Secretary, KUK Teachers Association, said that the institute continues to witness an acute shortage of funds, leaving all stakeholders in a state of disparity, and getting our colleges affiliated with the PU would not be less than a disaster as it would add to our financial burdens. Further, he said that in such a situation, the government should not take such decisions and instead of giving grants to PU, they should be given to its own university, KUK.
Besides, Dr. Anand, president of the association, said that the UGC Regulation 2018 should be fully implemented, and the decision pertaining to the state colleges is most likely to affect the teaching fraternity, students, and other stakeholders.
In this series, the state Chief Minister, Manohar Lal, said that
In today›s era, the colleges of the United States are also affiliated with international universities.
The aim of the National Education Policy is that all educational institutions should cooperate in the progress of the country, and the mutual relations of all the states should be further strengthened. Therefore, affiliation of colleges in Haryana should be done with Panjab University, Chandigarh.
He further added that Panjab University, Chandigarh, is a central university, with which Haryana›s colleges should also have affiliation.