After a meeting of its Finance Committee to approve the yearly budget was adjourned yesterday, Wednesday, August 6, due to a lack of quorum, the APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University in Kerala might be staring down the barrel of an impending financial crisis.

M Sivaprasad, Vice-Chancellor in Charge, scheduled the conference, which was critical to the budget's approval.

However, only four of the 14-member committee, which includes university officials, elected members of the Syndicate and the Board of Governors (BoG), and representatives from the Finance and Higher Education ministries, were present, The Hindu reports.

These comprised the Vice-Chancellor, Registrar, Finance Officer, and a Board of Governors member. Their abstention is viewed as part of the Left Democratic Front's (LDF) ongoing dispute with the state Governor, who also happens to be the varsity's Vice-Chancellor.

In May, Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar held a special meeting of the BoG, which was also deferred due to the absence of state-nominated officials and MLAs.

Faced with a difficult situation, the Vice-Chancellor is expected to call a special meeting of the Syndicate on August 13 to break the impasse. The acceptance of the draft budget would have allowed the Vice-Chancellor to call Syndicate and BoG meetings to pass the whole budget.

However, the current situation has disrupted the university's financial activities, resulting in a near-complete halt to its daily operations. Important bills on utilities, such as telephone bills, Amazon Web Service licensing costs and internet charges remain unpaid.

The financial crisis has begun to impact fundamental services such as exams, result declarations, and the BTech admissions process, all of which rely on digital platforms. Even the shipment of degree certificates, which is now handled by India Post, is jeopardised due to unpaid postal fees.