Delhi LG may form Committees to Investigate Alleged Irregularities in 12 DU Colleges

Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena is considering the establishment of a committee to investigate alleged financial irregularities in the 12 Delhi University colleges funded by the city government, as per officials from Raj Niwas.

A delegation from the Delhi University Principals’ Association (DUPA) presented a memorandum to Saxena on Monday, highlighting concerns, including financial irregularities in these 12 colleges. The LG has assured the delegation that he will contemplate the formation of a committee comprising all stakeholders to address the issues promptly, as stated by an official on Tuesday.

This development follows Delhi Education Minister Atishi’s letter to Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, where she raised concerns about irregularities and procedural lapses involving significant sums from the public exchequer in these 12 colleges.

Members of the Delhi University’s Academic Council and the Indian National Teachers Congress (INTEC) also submitted a memorandum to Vice Chancellor Yogesh Singh, urging an urgent meeting to discuss the flagged irregularities.

INTEC condemned Atishi’s letter, asserting that a crucial policy matter was presented to Pradhan without consulting stakeholders. Atishi had suggested that the colleges either merge under the Delhi government or be disaffiliated by the Centre, prompting the Delhi government to cease funding.

The Academic Council and INTEC’s memorandum clarified that the 12 colleges are ‘constituent’ colleges of the University of Delhi and not ‘affiliated.’ They criticized the Delhi government’s intent to transform these colleges into Autonomous Degree Granting Colleges under the New Education Policy, seeing it as a privatization agenda.

The teachers’ bodies urged the Delhi University to convene a special Executive Meeting urgently to address the matter and reach a decisive resolution. INTEC explicitly condemned Atishi’s letter concerning the 12 colleges that receive full funding from the Delhi government.

Furthermore, they criticized the city government’s proposal to disaffiliate these colleges from Delhi University, suggesting Ambedkar University or Delhi Skills and Entrepreneurship University, pointing out their exorbitant fee structures and lack of science stream courses.

INTEC alleged that inadequate grant allocation has led to severe financial crises in these colleges, causing delays in salaries for teachers and non-teaching staff, with pending arrears for promoted teachers amounting to crores of rupees.

(With PTI inputs)