Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, on Wednesday, said that huge misappropriation of funds was found in the audit of six Delhi University colleges that were not paying salaries. These colleges, directly funded by the Delhi government, had previously cited a lack of funds as the reason. The minister added that the colleges have kept huge amounts as fixed deposits rather than paying salaries to staff.
However, the principals of the colleges, speaking to several media outlets clarified that the amount that Sisodia spoke about was the students' fund and the money cannot be used to pay pending salaries. "Linking students' fees to salaries of employees is against the publicly funded nature of DU and its colleges. This is an outright attempt to use the reputation of DU Colleges to turn them into teaching shops," the DU Teachers' Association said in a statement. "The fees collected from students are used to carry out myriad activities for which the Government does not give grants. More serious is the suggestion that students’ fees be used to pay teachers’ salaries. This objectionable statement is nothing but an attempt to withdraw Government expenditure from publicly funded institutions that will pave the way for rampant privatisation with a consequent exponential increase in students’ fees," it said in another statement.
The minister's statement was not well received by the student community too. The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, which dominates that DU Students' Union, in a statement, said, "When the teachers have not been paid from months, it is difficult to ensure the quality of education the students are receiving. The added burden on teachers has led to a decrement in the quality of education. This act of the state government can also lead to fee hike in state-funded colleges of Delhi University which would be detrimental for the students."
