PATNA: The Patna University senate on Tuesday passed a Rs 525-crore deficit budget for the next financial year (2022-23). The budget will now be submitted to the state government for its inclusion in the annual state budget for the next fiscal. PU vice-chancellor Girish Kumar Chaudhary presided the online meeting.
Presenting the budget, PU pro-vice-chancellor Ajay Kumar Singh said the budget estimates envisage an expenditure of Rs 561 crore against an income of Rs 35 crore from all sources.
The expenditure is likely to be met with grants from the education department (Rs 536 crore), science and technology department (Rs 8.84 crore), directorate of distance education (Rs 4.01 crore), and vocational and self-financing courses (Rs 12.52 crore).
He added due to non-receipt of statutory grants from the state government to the tune of Rs 27 crore for the last 17 years, the university was facing difficulties in clearing its outstanding liabilities, including payment of electricity charges, municipal taxes, maintenance of laboratories and other infrastructural facilities.
Singh added the university has been facing an acute dearth of teachers and non-teaching staff, hampering all its activities. There are only 270 teachers working in the university against 869 sanctioned posts. The university has appointed 114 guest faculties to manage its academic activities somehow. Similarly, only 576 non-teaching staff are working against 1,506 sanctioned posts. A sum of Rs 7 crore has been proposed for appointment of non-teaching staff against sanctioned vacant posts on contract basis through outsourcing.
Earlier, the vice-chancellor announced that elections to the Patna University Students’ Union (PUSU) would be held in the last week of February as all the admissions of students in the current academic session are likely to be over by mid-February.
Chaudhary announced that efforts are being made to digitize all the workings of the university by resorting to complete automation of its admission, examination and accounts. CCTV cameras will be installed at all strategic points throughout the campus for ensuring full safety to the boys and girls.
He added the construction work of a first-of-its-kind Dolphin Research Centre on PU campus is likely to be started soon and a new building of Population Research Centre would also be constructed at a cost of Rs 6.9 crore.
He said the PU would be the first university in the state to introduce CBCS at undergraduate level from the next academic session.
The senate approved the admission ordinance and examination regulations of as many as 13 UG courses besides amendments in BLib Science and MLib Science courses.It also approved proposals with regard to an MoU with Zoological Survey of India, extension of the maximum two years’ limit for Ph D registration, adoption of NCC as an elective paper at the undergraduate stage, and weightage to Scout and Guide candidates in admission.
PU syndicate member S B Lal presented the annual report. Student representatives Manish Kumar, Ashish Sinha, Aamir, and others highlighted students’ grievances.
