On Thursday, April 13, 2023, 12 colleges of Delhi University, which come under the purview of the Delhi government, received their much-awaited first quarter of funding, i.e., Rs. 100 crores, from the state.
The Delhi government has released Rs 100 crores of funds in the first quarter for its fully-funded 12 colleges under Delhi University on April 13, 2023. This includes colleges such as Acharya Narendra Dev College, Aditi Mahavidyalaya, Bhagini Nivedita College, Bhaskaracharya College, Deen Dayal Upadhyaya College, Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar College, Indira Gandhi Institute of Physical Education and Sports Sciences, Keshav Mahavidyalaya, Maharaja Agrasen College, Maharshi Valmiki College of Education, Shaheed Rajguru College, and Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies.
In addition to these 12 DU colleges, universities such as the Delhi Technological University (DTU), the Netaji Subhash University of Technology (NSUT), etc. also come under the Delhi state government and depend on funds from it. Delhi Education Minister Atishi Marlena said that the government’s commitment to education is evident by the 300 percent plus increase in the budget allocated to these colleges since the Kejriwal government came to power in the state.
“In the financial year 2023–24, an amount of Rs 400 crore has been allocated by the government. Out of this, the first quarter of Rs 100 crore is being released today.” —Atishi Marlena, Delhi Education Minister
There has been an upward trend in funding for the Education Department during Assembly budgets through the years. The COVID-19 years saw an allocation of Rs. 265 crores for 2020–21 and Rs. 308 crores for 2021–22 to these colleges. In the era of post-pandemic recovery and the implementation of NEP 2020, the budgetary allocation for the above-mentioned 12 colleges has increased.
However, many question the impact of this on-paper allocation of money, as asserted by the government, due to the non-release of funds. There also exists a disparity between the 12 colleges, as Deen Dayal Upadhyay College faced a 10-day power disruption due to non-payment of electric bills. Meanwhile, a student at Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies has this to say:
“I am not very sure about the budgetary allocation of our college, but the infrastructure here is amazing, with spacious classrooms and corridors, and a beautiful auditorium.” —student at Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies
Issues between the government and colleges persist as teachers and non-teaching staff accuse the government of delaying salaries and crumbling infrastructure. A Delhi BJP spokesperson, Praveen Shankar Kapoor, has accused the Delhi government of delays in salary payments to teaching and non-teaching staff of these 12 colleges during the past 5 years. He has asked the Delhi Education Minister to respond to these allegations.
Read also: DU Employees Suffer as the Delhi Government Fails to Pay Salaries
Featured Image Credits: The Indian Express
Bhavya Nayak
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