Jadavpur University has written to the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) in its self-study report that it is facing a “considerable shortage of funds” and cited a “growing disparity between state and centrally-run educational institutions” in regard to funding from government agencies.
A NAAC team is expected to visit the campus in April.
“This (the disparity)... hampers the necessary growth in terms of infrastructure development and maintenance of the university,” JU, a state-run institution, said in its report sent recently.
The report has been uploaded on JU’s website after the NAAC accepted it, pro-vice-chancellor Amitava Datta said.
The report says a lack of enough technicians, resulting from funds shortage, is coming in the way of proper maintenance of many costly equipment. “There are no provisions for providing institutional research fellowships resulting in a reduced number of full-time research fellows in the university,” it says.
The state and the central governments both have been reducing its financial support over the years, said a JU official.
“The state is not paying anything under the head of non-salary grant, which is required for the maintenance and development of infrastructure and labs. Funding agencies like the UGC have been cutting down its support. All these have crippled the university,” said Parthapratim Roy, secretary of the university’s teachers’ association.
JU has also mentioned in the report that it is facing space constraints. “With a gradual increase in the number of students... this shortage of space has affected the teaching-learning process,” the report says.