State government tripping up a UGC scheme

The state government too refused to bail out the department whose annual budget is a mere Rs 36 lakh. This also includes the amount of Rs 2.5 lakh per university which the state government would have to bear to pay the salaries of the academic and non-teaching staff.

However, after the state government refused to bail out the department, which has branches in six universities in the state, several universities like the south Gujarat and the Gujarat University decided to stop the activities of the DACEEs, the UGC later decided to breathe life into the lifeless department again.

The UGC said it would not allocate separate funds to the university. But for the salaries of the staffers of the department, the university should manage with development grants received from the UGC under the allocation for the Ninth Five Year Plan.

However, the UGC chairperson also urged the Vice-chancellor and the head of the department to persuade the state government to take up the responsibility. But even after 14 months the state government is yet to take up the responsibility.

Interestingly, UGC had said that it would continue to finance the other activities of the department, provided the state government took over the liabilities of the administrative expenditure.

The UGC had introduced the programme of adult, continuing education and extension in the universities in the country in 1976 as an important way of fulfilling social obligations. Such departments were introduced in 106 universities in the country initially with financial assistance from the UGC for the first five years.

The UGC in a letter to the state government said that “higher education had a vital role to play in national development and hence it was necessary to promote community outreach through field projects through outreach programmes. And hence, the letter said, it was important for the state to take the responsibility of the salaries of the staffers of the department.

However, the state government has been skipping its responsibilities since inception. Continuing education departments were started simultaneously in Gujarat University, South Gujarat University, Bhavanagar, Saurashtra, MSU Vadodara and Vallabh Vidyanagar in 1978.

As per the UGC policy, its funds any programme its introduced for the first five year, and expects the state government to take up the responsibility subsequently. However, the state government refused to shoulder the burden in 1982, UGC extended sponsorship for another five years.

But even in 1987, the state government refused to bear the responsibility and the UGC was forced to again extend its assistance till the end of the Eighth Five Year Plan outlay.