New Delhi: Human Resource Development (HRD) minister, Kapil Sibal, is keen to extend the status of Panjab University (PU) in Chandigarh as a Central University. However, the Punjab Government became an obstacle in the move.
According to a statement made by Mr Sibal, technically speaking, PU is an inter-state body corporate and not a state university. Moreover, Sibal alleges upon the Punjab government for not accepting the central status, because the state would lose out on the revenue generated from PU through its affiliates holds no firm ground.
Mr Sibal is now keen on proposing a system of disaffiliation where the responsibility of conducting the exams would befall upon it, while the universities would just be meant for research work, which is their primary job. He further added that the actual implementation should come from the states, we can only propose.
As per sources, budget of PU originally comprised of 40% share from both Punjab and Haryana, while the rest comes from the home ministry through the UT of Chandigarh. But Punjab has been contributing only 10% (R 16 crore per annum) of the expected contribution to PU to pay for its 175 affiliated colleges. There is a calculation already predefined by Punjab.
The government would actually gain from the disaffiliation saving the 16 crore amount, as Haryana did when it opted for disaffiliation of its colleges from PU and stopped paying 40 per cent of PU's budget it was supposed to. However, the primary objection by the Punjab government for the conversion stands political as it weakens Punjab's claim over Chandigarh.
