SPPU Defers Academic Outreach Plan for J&K Students
During a recent senate meeting that had been held at SPPU, officials have stated that no final draft has been made regarding the proposals for designing courses for J&K and Ladakh students. Various concerns regarding the allocation of funds and fee hikes were also discussed.
During an administerial meeting at the Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU), various discussions and decisions had been made. Among some of the discussions, the SPPU officials deliberated over the different ways, it could attract students from the newly formed Union Territories of Jammu & Kasmir and Ladakh.
SPPU officials, during the senate meetings which was organized on Saturday, 14th December 2019, stated that the varsity is yet to finalise a draft as of now. They are currently in the process of scoping out all options, stated Rajesh Pandey, one of the SPPU management council members.
Right after the Government of India announced the annulment of Article 370 in August 2019, which granted special status to J&K, SPPU sprang into action for an academic outreach to the Valley. Officials from the university had also set up meetings with Kashmir University officials for academic partnerships. However, since SPPU is a state-run University, all proposals of establishing an off-campus center had been sidelined. The MP of Ladak, Jamgyal Namgyal, visited SPPU two months ago.
During the senate meeting on Saturday, certain officials from the University spoke out about their concerns regarding funding to the sub-centers at Nashik and Ahmednagar. Officials stated they were worried that the varsity will spend on the proposals for J&K and Ladakh students, instead of concentrating on the other sub-centers.
The members stated that the sub-centers at Nashik and Ahmednagar lack the basic infrastructure and manpower, which directly affects the academic performance of the students enrolled at these locations. Pointing out the issues at the sub-centers, they requested that the administration should focus more on the sub-centers at Ahmednagar and Nashik.
Rajesh Pandey, the SPPU senate member, stated that there are no plans as of yet to redirect any funds. There are proposals to host SPPU classes in the universities which are already established in the Valley. However, none of the proposals has been finalized, stated the official.
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During the meeting, the SPPU officials announced the senate members that plans to attract the J&K students to the mainstream are being put in place. To facilitate the process, a socio-cultural exchange programme has been scheduled in January 2020.
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During the senate meeting, the officials also announced various proposals which are yet to be finalized. A proposal for fee hike had also been placed in the meeting, which had the senate members with divided opinions on the matter. As per the officials, proposals for raising the fee by 30% for conventional courses and 20% for professional courses, had been made. The Vice-Chancellor stated that a Fee Regulation Committee has been formed before deciding on the issue.