Money matters risk diversity programme

VADODARA, Aug 10: Seventy thousand dollars, by any standards, is a lot of money. But when the cause is a worthy one, most would consider ...

VADODARA, Aug 10: Seventy thousand dollars, by any standards, is a lot of money. But when the cause is a worthy one, most would consider it money well spent. The doubt arises when one realises just a shade less than half the budget is eaten up by administrative expenses.

That, at least, is the case with the Ford Foundation-sponsored Campus Diversity Initiative at M S University. More’s the pity, since the scope of its undeniable good work would be considerably enhanced if a larger share of the funds could be ploughed into educative, enlightening workshops and seminars.

The programme’s core committee co-coordinator S R Pandya, however, has a different point of view on the issue. “Actually, the amount earmarked for the seminars and workshops can be safely cut down”, he says, pointing out that since most of them were organised at the faculty level, they were also eligible for funds from the University Grants Commission.

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It was the other, allied departments that needed more focused attention, according to Pandya. “Seminars and workshops are only a part of the diversity programme. Archives and displays are what requires funds today.”

His dreams could perhaps be fulfilled through better management of the Ford Foundation funds. Telephone and fax bills, stationery costs, a conveyance allowance for the project co-ordinator and salaries for the project assistant, the accounts clerk, the sweeper, the peon and the typist eat up around Rs 3,02,000 per month.

A whopping Rs 2.50 lakhs has also been kept aside for the repair and maintenance of the Residency Bungalow, where most of the Campus Diversity activities are conducted. The amount left for this, the real purpose’: Rs 2,10,000.

With the resources at its disposal severely restricted, it is little wonder, therefore, that the programme has had little impact on the campus. The recent workshop on the Profile of Women in Gujarat, conducted by the Human Development and Family Studies department of the Faculty of Home Science, for instance, attracted more delegates than students.

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The Arts Faculty symposium on restless on campus, too, ended up as an exchange of expert opinions and failed to penetrate the student consciousness altogether. The slide show conducted by renowned painter Jyoti Bhatt, though impressive, too, had few takers.

While agreeing that the programme had failed to reach out to the student populace and needed active involvement from faculty to be a success, Pandya, however, said that even if a few of them attended the shows and seminars, the message would be driven home to the students at large.