Jadavpur University has formed a 24-member PM Usha committee to prepare plans for receiving and spending financial assistance under the Centre’s higher-education funding programme, giving the institution a fresh opportunity to address infrastructure and research needs. The committee has been formed after the university moved closer to participating in the scheme following a memorandum of understanding between the Centre and the state government, according to a report by Sangbad Pratidin – Kolkata.
Temporary registrar Debjit Dutta has been appointed convener of the committee. The panel includes the university’s deans, members of the executive council and heads of departments, and will prepare proposals detailing how funds are to be secured and which areas should receive expenditure. The proposals will subsequently be placed before the university’s executive council.
The funding programme was previously known as the Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan, or RUSA, before the central government renamed it PM Usha. The report said the state government had earlier objected to the use of the prefix “PM” in the programme’s name, arguing that education is a subject on the Concurrent List under the Constitution and that financial assistance for higher education is shared between the Centre and the states.
The disagreement had affected the participation of universities in the funding programme, according to the report. The state government later gave its consent and signed a memorandum of understanding with the Centre, allowing Jadavpur University to move ahead with the committee’s formation.
The committee’s creation has also triggered a procedural dispute within the university. University sources told Sangbad Pratidin – Kolkata that deans, executive council members and department heads submitted written complaints to Vice-Chancellor Chiranjib Bhattacharyya, alleging that the committee had not been formed according to the rules. The university authorities have rejected the allegation and said there was no irregularity in the committee’s formation.
The development comes as the university faces financial pressure. The report said the government has already approved assistance of Rs 250 crore for Jadavpur University. The authorities expect the funding to support improvements across the institution, including infrastructure and research, although the committee must first prepare the spending and implementation proposals for consideration by the executive council.
The next formal step is the submission of the committee’s proposals to the executive council. The report did not specify the timeline for the committee’s recommendations, the release schedule for the approved funds or the individual projects that will be financed.
