May 29 2015 : The Economic Times (Delhi)
TISS Flounders as Sarkar Fails to Bolster It with Funds
Anubhuti Vishnoi
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New Delhi:
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NO SOCIAL SERVICE Top social science education institute forced to take bank loans and dip into reserves to pay salaries and keep organisation running
Tata Institute of Socia Sciences (TISS), widely recognise as a pioneer in the area of social sci ence education, is in the grip of a fi nancial `nightmare' even as the hu man resource development (HRD ministry and the University Grant Commission (UGC) work on a ne framework for government polic towards funding deemed universi ties in the country.TISS, set up in 1936 by the Tatas, i among eight deemed universitie funded by the government whic are faced with a financial crisis a UGC and HRD ministry are yet t decide whether the state shoul continue funding them.
TISS has had to take bank loans i March and April and dip into its re serves -essentially funds generat ed through fee collection -to pa employee salaries and keep the in stitute running. “TISS has sent a representa tion to both UGC and HRD ministry and it is now up to the government to take a decision We urgently need the money -some ` . 65-70 crore comes to us in grants from UGC. We are a fully public-funded institu tion and our existence de pends on this funding. While funds for 2014-15 were released to us last year, now we are fac ing a nightmare. Salaries, pen sions, maintenance of hostels water and electricity bills are all dependent on this fund ing,“ TISS Director S Parasu raman told ET in a telephonic interview.
He pointed out that TISS fol lowed government norms with regard to reservation and is also willing to adhere to any new rules.
“This is an 80-year-old insti tution with 4,600 students. We are ready to follow all govern ment rules, but stopping the grants while new rules are ye to come into effect is like chok ing you to death. For social sci ences, there is especially a need for financial support. We are only requesting the gov ernment to quickly release funds,“ Parasuraman said.
UGC Chairman Ved Pra kash confirmed there were funding issues with regard to eight deemed varsities, in cluding TISS, but said a solu tion would soon be found.
“UGC will take a considered view keeping in mind the in terests of both the institute and the students. The idea is to facilitate the growth and development of good institutions. We are exploring possibilities of helping them out from the present stalemate,“ the UGC chairman told ET.
Higher Education Secretary Satyanarayan Mohanty did not respond to queries from ET till press time.
INSUFFICIENT FUNDS
In a letter dated April 29, 2015, Parasuraman told the higher education secretary that funds were insufficient even to pay salaries. “The current financial year has commenced and we are yet to receive grants even to meet the salary and pension of March and April 2015 and other critical operational costs like electricity , water, security , annual maintenance contracts, etc. It has come to a situation that we had to take loans to pay salaries and pension for these months,“ Parasuraman wrote.
Acknowledging that the HRD ministry and UGC may be working on a fresh framework for funding of deemed universities, the TISS director had sought the secretary's intervention to ensure “the institute is not crippled and the grants for salary and pension are released immediately“.
The institute receives both plan and non-plan grants from UGC with the latter touching about ` . 50 crore in 2013-14. It has received funding from the central government since late 1940s. After it was declared a deemed varsity in 1964, it has been whollyfunded by the government. Its existing campus in Deonar, Mumbai, was inaugurated by India's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru.
HRD MIN RAISED QUESTIONS
Questions were raised by the HRD ministry in SeptemberOctober 2014 about the rationale of government funding for these eight varsities. Subsequently , UGC held back funds for these varsities. While the institutes have been sending a stream of representations to the HRD ministry and UGC seeking release of funds, the two have yet to come to a resolution.
For about a year, TISS has been requesting that the HRD ministry directly fund its nonplan expenditure instead of UGC on account of delayed and irregular funding by the commission. TISS has also requested that its non-plan block grant funding be increased to . 100 crore per annum.` While TISS is probably the most prestigious among the deemed varsities, there are others as well who are faced with a severe cash crunch owing to the rethink in HRD ministry and UGC over their funding. Among these are Agra-based Dayalbagh Educational Institute, Gujarat Vidyapith in Ahmedabad, Gandhi Gram Rural Institute in Tamil Nadu, Avinashilingam University in Coimbatore. Government-run deemed varsities namely Lal Bahadur Shastri Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidyapeeth in Delhi, Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidyapeeth in Tirupati and Gurukul Kangri University in Haridwar are also facing funds shortage.
TISS has had to take bank loans i March and April and dip into its re serves -essentially funds generat ed through fee collection -to pa employee salaries and keep the in stitute running. “TISS has sent a representa tion to both UGC and HRD ministry and it is now up to the government to take a decision We urgently need the money -some ` . 65-70 crore comes to us in grants from UGC. We are a fully public-funded institu tion and our existence de pends on this funding. While funds for 2014-15 were released to us last year, now we are fac ing a nightmare. Salaries, pen sions, maintenance of hostels water and electricity bills are all dependent on this fund ing,“ TISS Director S Parasu raman told ET in a telephonic interview.
He pointed out that TISS fol lowed government norms with regard to reservation and is also willing to adhere to any new rules.
“This is an 80-year-old insti tution with 4,600 students. We are ready to follow all govern ment rules, but stopping the grants while new rules are ye to come into effect is like chok ing you to death. For social sci ences, there is especially a need for financial support. We are only requesting the gov ernment to quickly release funds,“ Parasuraman said.
UGC Chairman Ved Pra kash confirmed there were funding issues with regard to eight deemed varsities, in cluding TISS, but said a solu tion would soon be found.
“UGC will take a considered view keeping in mind the in terests of both the institute and the students. The idea is to facilitate the growth and development of good institutions. We are exploring possibilities of helping them out from the present stalemate,“ the UGC chairman told ET.
Higher Education Secretary Satyanarayan Mohanty did not respond to queries from ET till press time.
INSUFFICIENT FUNDS
In a letter dated April 29, 2015, Parasuraman told the higher education secretary that funds were insufficient even to pay salaries. “The current financial year has commenced and we are yet to receive grants even to meet the salary and pension of March and April 2015 and other critical operational costs like electricity , water, security , annual maintenance contracts, etc. It has come to a situation that we had to take loans to pay salaries and pension for these months,“ Parasuraman wrote.
Acknowledging that the HRD ministry and UGC may be working on a fresh framework for funding of deemed universities, the TISS director had sought the secretary's intervention to ensure “the institute is not crippled and the grants for salary and pension are released immediately“.
The institute receives both plan and non-plan grants from UGC with the latter touching about ` . 50 crore in 2013-14. It has received funding from the central government since late 1940s. After it was declared a deemed varsity in 1964, it has been whollyfunded by the government. Its existing campus in Deonar, Mumbai, was inaugurated by India's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru.
HRD MIN RAISED QUESTIONS
Questions were raised by the HRD ministry in SeptemberOctober 2014 about the rationale of government funding for these eight varsities. Subsequently , UGC held back funds for these varsities. While the institutes have been sending a stream of representations to the HRD ministry and UGC seeking release of funds, the two have yet to come to a resolution.
For about a year, TISS has been requesting that the HRD ministry directly fund its nonplan expenditure instead of UGC on account of delayed and irregular funding by the commission. TISS has also requested that its non-plan block grant funding be increased to . 100 crore per annum.` While TISS is probably the most prestigious among the deemed varsities, there are others as well who are faced with a severe cash crunch owing to the rethink in HRD ministry and UGC over their funding. Among these are Agra-based Dayalbagh Educational Institute, Gujarat Vidyapith in Ahmedabad, Gandhi Gram Rural Institute in Tamil Nadu, Avinashilingam University in Coimbatore. Government-run deemed varsities namely Lal Bahadur Shastri Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidyapeeth in Delhi, Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidyapeeth in Tirupati and Gurukul Kangri University in Haridwar are also facing funds shortage.
