Bracing for next session, Delhi University yet to transfer students’ fees to colleges

Even as the Delhi University (DU) has already constituted a special committee to bring reforms in its admission process for the next academic year, it is yet to ‘partially or fully’ transfer the students’fee of the ongoing session to as many as 61 of its colleges. Unlike previous academic years, the university had collected the fee from the students in a centralised manner in the session 2017-18.

Calling it “ironic”, the colleges have alleged that the delay in the transfer hampered their development work throughout the year. The university has to transfer around Rs 4-5 crore to each of these colleges. “This is the first time we have to face a crisis like this. It has never happened before. We have not been told the reason for the delay. It, however, has affected the functioning of the college throughout the session,” said Anju Srivastava, the Principal of Hindu College.

While the Delhi University had made the admission process online in 2014, the fee used to collect by the respective colleges until the academic year 2016-17. Last year, the students had paid the fees in two stages-- registration fee and admission fee-- in a centralised manner. The university had to transfer all these colleges the fee of their students immediately after the admission process wrapped up in September, last year.

Officials at the university claimed that they have started the transfer process. Some colleges have also confirmed of receiving a “considerable” part of their amount.“We have received 80 percent of our students’ fee from the university. However, the remaining amount is still huge and we are yet to receive it,” said Pratibha Jolly, Principal of Miranda House.

Meanwhile, members of Executive Council (EC), the university’s highest statutory body, said that the admissions in colleges are within the purview of their staff council, as per the Delhi University statutes.“The centralisation in the admissions process involving thousands of students across sixty colleges is not suitable to a federal university like DU and such delay causing financial losses to the colleges are occurring,” said Rajesh Jha, a professor at the University and an EC member.

FEE STRUCTURE

• While the Delhi University had made the admission process online in 2014, the fee used to collect by the respective colleges until the academic year 2016-17. 
   
• Last year, the students had paid the fees in two stages-- registration fee and admission fee-- in a centralised manner.