Governor C.V. Ananda Bose on Tuesday asked vice-chancellors of state universities to reach out to the alumni for resources as government funding was on the wane, said some officials who attended the meeting.
Education minister Bratya Basu was among those who attended the meeting, held at Raj Bhavan. The governor is ex-officio chancellor of the 22 state universities.
The chancellor’s advice came after Jadavpur University VC Suranjan Das said a reduction in grant from the UGC had led to a shortfall in resources, said an official present at the meeting.
Das had in October written to a platform of former students that “government funding — state and central — is becoming extremely inadequate” for JU.
“The chancellor, while acknowledging the reduction in government funding, advised the universities to tap the alumni for funds,” said a VC who did not want to be named. “He also spoke about resource generation through consultancy.”
“The chancellor has spoken in detail about resource generation. He cited how alumni in Kerala have generously contributed to their alma mater, a university,” minister Basu later said at a media conference at Raj Bhavan.
The chancellor was present at the media conference.
Presidency University sit-in
The members of the SFI unit on the Presidency University campus started a sit-in demonstration on Tuesday evening, seeking the resumption of students’ union elections.
Since campuses reopened in February last year, the state government has been exploring the possibility of conducting the polls.
The government is yet to come up with a notification, said some of the protesting students.
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