The teacher's association at Tezpur University, Assam, alleged that the university management had not purchased a single Assamese book in the last two financial years, suggesting "complete neglect" of the local language.
In a statement released yesterday, October 29, the Tezpur University Teachers' Association (TUTA) claimed that Vice Chancellor Sambhu Nath Singh had approved purchasing books just from a few chosen Delhi-based publishers, thereby affecting the entire procurement process.
The association sought a thorough investigation into the suspected financial irregularities in the administration of public funds, PTI reports.
"It has come to light that during the financial year 2024-25, Tezpur University received a total allocation of Rs 6.5 crore under the UGC grant-in-aid for capital assets, meant for books and journals, ICT infrastructure, laboratories, campus development and other facilities," it added.
Further, Rs 5.72 crore was allocated for the acquisition of books and journals, with Rs 4.56 crore spent under this category, accounting for over 70 per cent of the entire capital asset allocation.
"Despite this major expenditure, records show that no funds were utilised for Assamese books, even though a budget of Rs 2.91 lakh had been sanctioned for 146 books under the Department of Assamese," TUTA said.
It also added that the University did not acquire a single Assamese book during the two consecutive fiscal years 2024-25 and 2025-26, despite significant allocations and persistent requests for the inclusion of regional literature.
The TUTA statement provided financial information on book purchases from several publishers, claiming that the figures showed that a large chunk of the University's capital asset funds had been channelled to a small group of Delhi-based enterprises that did not produce Assamese literature.
Alleging that VC Sambhu Nath Singh “personally influenced” the selection of the vendors, the TUTA claimed, “This deliberate restriction of suppliers not only raises questions of favouritism and conflict of interest, but also suggests a possible financial anomaly in the handling of public funds meant for educational development.”
Calling this a "serious disregard for regional inclusion and linguistic representation", TUTA emphasised that the calls for an independent and transparent inquiry by relevant authorities to establish responsibility and restore trust in the central university's procurement and governance systems.
