Jadavpur: Jadavpur University will write to the state education department for financial assistance for the installation of CCTV cameras at strategic points on the campus and at hostels and to hire ex-servicemen as guards, a JU official said on Friday.
The university is encountering financial constraints because of reduced support from the state and central governments.
In such a situation, the official said, it would be difficult for the university to arrange funds for the additional expenditure.
“In the initial phase, we will install CCTV cameras at the gates of the hostels
and the campus,” the official said.
JU issued a circular on Thursday saying consumption of alcohol and use of narco-
tics or other illegal substances are prohibited on the
campus.
“We need to maintain vigil on the vast campus to prevent such illegal activities. And for that we need a large number of cameras, to be installed at strategic points. But the university is not in a position to bear the expenses,” the official said.
“We also need funds to hire ex-servicemen as security
personnel at the hostels,” he said.
“So, we are going to write to the higher education department, seeking assistance. Once the exact amount is calculated, we will write the letter,” said the official.
The Telegraph reported on Thursday that the university had decided to engage ex-servicemen as guards at the hostels as the current security personnel are failing to curb indiscipline.
A first-year student was allegedly ragged and thrown from a second-floor balcony of JU Main Hostel on the night of August 9. He died at a hospital early next morning.
An internal committee of JU, set up to investigate the death, has said in an interim report that ragging “seems to be one of the probable causes” of the death.
Partha Pratim Ray, general secretary of the teachers’ association, said: “The university is encountering a huge funds deficit following a mismatch between expenditure and what it gets from the state government as grant. We are not sure how the university will bear the expenses for installing CCTV cameras and hiring ex-servicemen if it does not receive financial support from the state government.”
This newspaper reported on June 16 that the deficit registered by JU under non-salary heads (such as electricity charges and hostel and library expenses) for the 2022-23 fiscal “is more than the grant” it received from the state government. The deficit runs into crores of rupees.
The higher education department on Thursday set up a committee to identify the administrative lapses and infrastructure gaps at the university.
“One of the infrastructure gaps is the absence of CCTV cameras at the hostels and on the campus. We now want to install the cameras. We hope the government will pay heed to our request for funds,” a JU official said.
This newspaper called education minister Bratya Basu and sent him text
messages asking whether the government would extend financial support to JU for
the installation of CCTV cameras and hiring of ex-servicemen. The calls and the messages failed to elicit any response.