Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) Vice-Chancellor Lt. General (retd) Zameer Uddin Shah has appealed to the university alumni and members of its Old Boys Associations across the world to make substantial contributions as the university requires funds to the tune of Rs 100 crore over the next five years to improve infrastructure and carry out development programmes. In an open letter to AMU alumni,the V-C has addressed them as the custodian of AMU and said it was payback time for them to their alma mater. Shah on Friday left for the US,where he will interact with alumni and make the same appeal during a meet of Federation of AMU Alumni Association in Houston city. The V-C will visit other cities in the US and later tour West Asia to meet AMU alumni there and other well-wishers and obtain firm commitments from them for contributions, said university spokesperson Rahat Abrar. In his letter,Shah has stated that it was a misconception that government funding alone was adequate to meet requirements for expansion and modernisation of the university. He added that the university cannot increase intake of students because it has limited residential facilities and was bursting at the seams. The reality is that the government releases funds for salary of 100 per cent authorisation of teachers. We are understaffed and thus surrendered funds are largely the unutilised salary component,which cannot be diverted for other purposes, the letter said. Shah added that the university needs additional funds for construction of a boys and girls hostel and a foreign and NRI students hostel. We have no facility to accommodate foreign and NRI students and are thus losing them to other universities, the V-C said. He said that residential accommodation for 6,000 students was now being occupied by 15,000 students. The V-C also said that the university needs to construct new teaching blocks,with modern facilities such as smart class rooms,language labs,IT and computing facilities. The market requires students to be exposed to international academic standards,he said. This can be achieved through exchange of faculty and students to world-class facilities at different labs and universities in India and outside. Our students are not from affluent families and need financial support for this purpose. He stated that the Old Boys Associations abroad can make substantial contribution by raising resources urgently needed by AMU. We are hopeful that our alumni will rise to this occasion. It is payback time, the V-C stated. An AMU official said,As Rs 100 crore is a big amount,major contributions are expected from those working in Gulf countries and the US.
