New Delhi: The Union Education Ministry has finally responded to the much-anticipated question of whether the government has observed the financial crisis being suffered by a few colleges in Delhi University due to the delay in the release of funds by the Delhi government. The question was asked by Parvesh Sahib Singh Verma, MP from Delhi.

"The University Grants Commission (UGC) has informed that the University of Delhi has 91 Constituent/affiliated colleges, out of which UGC provides revenue grants to 53 Delhi colleges only. 12 Delhi colleges are fully funded by the Government of NCT of Delhi and the remaining 26 colleges receive funds from other sources," the reply stated.

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Talking about the official response on whether the government has directed to Delhi government to ensure the release of pending funds to DU colleges of the University of Delhi, the response mentioned, “A representation was received in the Ministry from all the twelve Principals of DU Colleges, fully funded by the Government of NCT of Delhi, regarding the hardships to the staff members and pensioners due to non-release of Grants in Aid."

"The same was forwarded to the Directorate of Higher Education, Government of NCT of Delhi for taking necessary action in the matter. The UGC has further informed that the University of Delhi has also communicated that it has received representations from the staff of 12 colleges regarding the delay in the release of funds by the Government of NCT of Delhi," the reply stated.

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The note further stated, "The University of Delhi has written to the Directorate of Higher Education, Government of NCT of Delhi for the timely release of grants to the Colleges for salary and other expenses."

Stating the number of funds released by the UGC in past years and the upcoming years, the reply revealed, “The UGC has released grants amounting to Rs 2134.54 cr, Rs 2446.83 cr, and Rs 590.51 cr during the financial years 2020-21, 2021-22 and 2022-23 (upto June 2022) respectively to the 53 Delhi colleges funded by UGC.”

While asserting points on affiliation fees, the statement said, "The University Grants Commission (Conferment of Autonomous Status Upon Colleges and Measures for Maintenance of Standards in Autonomous Colleges) Regulations, 2018 have been notified on February 12, 2018, on the guiding principle that college autonomy is instrumental for promoting broad-based quality education and excellence.”

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"Under the provisions of these regulations, the autonomous colleges can fix fees of the courses at their own level and have also been exempted from paying affiliation fees to the parent university every year," the statement added.

(Inputs from India Today)