Development fee raises funds but dashes hopes

The authorities also drew up plans on the allocation of Rs 30 lakh: While the university union and the faculty association were to get Rs 3 lakh each, the rest was to be divided among the various faculties on the basis of their needs.

Near the end of the academic year, however, questions are being raised about why the bulk of the money raised has notbeen utilised on infrastructure. According to a highly-placed source in the university, “Only some 800 chairs — some for the Hansa Mehta Library and some for the Faculty of Technology — have been bought with the money.”

Says Manish Gupte, a final-year student of the Faculty of Science, “When we were asked to pay a developmental fee, we were promised that the laboratory equipment would be replaced. The laboratories also need exhaust fans; one of the labs got a fan only recently.”

Says Hitesh Patel, his classmate, “Some test tubes in the lab can only be thrown away. But we have to use them since there’s no extra equipment.”

It’s not just laboratory equipment that needs replacement. Says Faculty of Commerce student Amit Pandya, “Some classrooms desperately need benches, while others are making do without tubelights and fans. Since it’s still cool, we can survive, but once summer sets in, it’ll be very difficult to attend classes in these conditions.

“Besides”, he adds, “most of the fans inour rooms are old and so rotate at very low speeds.”

It is for these reasons that the MSU instituted the developmental fee. But to channelise it requires coordination between the faculties and administrative authorities. Pro-Vice-Chancellor Deepak Kumar De admits as much when he says, “It is difficult to plan projects with faculties like Arts and Science unless the deans cooperate.

“The deans of the various faculties have been told to submit a list of their requirements, but they often don’t get back within the deadline.”

Dean of the Faculty of Commerce J K Syan told The Indian Express that he was still to call a meeting of the heads of departments. “We’ll do that once the examinations are over”, he says. “Besides, we also want to consult the students, which is best done after the examinations”.

The deans of the faculties of Arts and Science, too, say they are yet to submit their requirements.