UGC panels may take 100 yrs in auditing varsities: Members

Members of committees formed by the University Grants Commission to audit 10 central universities have written angry e-mails to the UGC, saying the work is extremely slow and will not be over even in 100 years at the current pace.

Members have alleged that two of three committees are selective in the audit process. Work on two universities has not even started even six months after the committees were formed.

The Union Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) had early this year asked the UGC to form committees to audit 10 central universities, including Aligarh Muslim University, Banaras Hindu University, Allahabad University, Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal University in Uttarakhand, Central University of Jharkhand, Central University of Rajasthan.

The Central University of Jammu, Mahatma Gandhi Antarrashtriya Hindi Vishwavidyalaya in Wardha, University of Tripura and Hari Singh Gour University in Madhya Pradesh were also on the radar for their financial and academic functioning. Three committees were later formed.

One of the panels has suggested changes and pointed out discrepancies regarding Aligarh Muslim University and Banaras Hindu University. But the committee which was supposed to work on Allahbad University and Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna University has not started work.

"The progress is slow to non-existent over six months," reads one of the e-mails accessed by DNA. The member even offered to leave the committee.

"We have received allegations against UGC, some written, some verbal, about the committees being selective in the auditing process. While the one working on BHU and AMU has already submitted its report, the others have not even started work yet. We do not know if it is a motivated action or just an allegation but it has been conveyed to the minister," said a source in HRD Ministry.

In one of the e-mails addressed to Joint Secretary of UGC Dr Jitendra Tripathi, the member writes, "I feel there is a fair amount of uncertainty among the members about the scope and brief of these audit committees. I am involved in three of these as a chairperson. Lack of proper response from UGC, the universities themselves and coordinating officers is leading to purposeless delays."

The member even requested UGC to leave himself out of the co-ordination work because of a very slow pace. "About HNB University and Allahbad University, you may consider me out of these committees unless I am personally convinced that something meaningful will emerge," the member added.

The committee auditing AMU and BHU had pointed that in-breeding at AMU was affecting its diversity. It had also suggested removing the words Hindu and Muslim from the names of BHU and AMU, respectively, to retain the secular nature of the universities.