The Newz Radar
MANDI: The Sardar Patel University in Mandi is in dire straits due to the alleged negligence of the Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu government over the past year. “The second state-run university in the state has fallen victim to vendetta politics, with the present government completely ignoring its existence, jeopardising the future of over 18,000 students enrolled in its affiliated colleges,” said an official.
It is reported that not a single meeting of the governing council and financial committee, mandatory on a monthly basis, has taken place in the university since the Congress government assumed power in the state. This lack of engagement is crucial for the administrative, academic and financial stability of the university.
The university is struggling to survive on a meagre budget of Rs 10 crore, with no communication from the government except for reducing its jurisdiction and revoking the leaves of the Pro-Vice-Chancellor.
The SPU is grappling with issues such as recruiting teaching and non-teaching staff, getting permission to start new departments and facing various financial constraints. The three university campuses at Bassa, Sundernagar and Drang are suffering as the government is not granting permission to launch new departments. Multi-storeyed buildings and infrastructure at these locations, constructed at a cost of Rs 33 crore, lie vacant. These campuses have been pleading for government attention for the past year.
Pro-Vice-Chancellor Anupama Singh, when contacted, lamented that they have written to the government several times for the recruitment of teaching and non-teaching staff for the 106 vacant positions within the university, but there has been no response from the government so far.
“I recently visited the three campuses of SPU and was disheartened to see such magnificent infrastructures lying vacant, where several professional courses could be offered to students who would otherwise have to go to big cities, incurring hefty boarding and lodging expenses,” she said.
She mentioned that the university has suggested to the government to start courses in these buildings on a self-financing basis if the state government is facing budgetary issues to run the university with its own finances.
The SPU was established on April 1, 2022, as a state government university. Initially, it was a cluster university with four colleges attached to it. Later, the then BJP government converted it into a state university by adding additional infrastructure.
In the beginning, it had jurisdiction over five districts, including Mandi, Kullu, Lahaul-Spiti, Chamba and Kangra, with 119 colleges and institutions in these five districts affiliated to it. With the change in government, its jurisdiction was reduced to less than half, covering less than three districts and 46 colleges at present.
