Madras university yet to get surplus grant from centre
Varsity says it is eligible to get Rs 100 crore fund after it received category-1 status, and had applied for it in March, this year.
Madras universityPhoto | Express
Updated on:
21 Oct 2024, 9:56 am
CHENNAI: The University of Madras was granted category-1 status from University Grants Commission (UGC) almost six months ago making it eligible to get Rs 100 crore surplus grant. However, the state university is yet to get any funding from the centre.
Varsity officials said after receiving the category-1 status they had immediately applied for the surplus grant with all details. As the ministry of education has not replied so far, they have again sent a reminder seeking the funds.
“We had applied for the surplus grants in March, and in August we sent a reminder letter to the union ministry seeking release of the funds. We are eligible to get Rs 100 crore in two phases for strengthening research and skill development work on the campus,” said an official in the varsity.
As per UGC (Categorisation of universities for grant of graded autonomy) Regulations, 2018, category -1 is the highest category which provides maximum level of autonomy. Along with the category-1 status, a National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) rating of A++ also qualifies universities for a Rs 100-crore surplus grant. University of Madras had acquired A++ NAAC ratings last year.
After getting category 1 status, the university can start new programmes or skill courses, set up off-campus centres, open research parks or innovation centres, and hire foreign faculty. They can do all of this without approaching UGC for any kind of approval.
With this autonomy, the universities can enhance their reputation, strengthen their research activities, and generate more revenue by launching more online and distance education courses. However, the University of Madras is not able to utilise these benefits as it has no money.
“Now, the varsity is struggling to manage its day to day expenses. So how can we focus on opening research parks and launching new courses? We badly need money to improve research work and infrastructure development of the university,” said PK Abdul Rahiman, secretary of the Teachers’ Collective of the University of Madras.
P Duraisamy, former vice-chancellor of the university, said during his tenure in 2019 the university was granted category-II status and at the time it received Rs 40 crore under the scheme. “The Rs 40 crore helped us a lot in enhancing our research activities. These funds are extremely crucial for the varsity,” said Duraisamy.
Despite repeated attempts, UGC or ministry officials could not be reached for comments.
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