The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government has released the third instalment of ₹100 crore to 12 Delhi University (DU) colleges fully funded by it, an official statement said on Sunday.
The Delhi government had allocated ₹400 crore to the colleges in its budget for the 2024-25 financial year.
“Since the AAP government came to power in Delhi, the budget allocated to these colleges has increased more than threefold, showcasing the government’s commitment to education,” the statement read.
Chief Minister Atishi said that education has always been the top priority for the AAP government the largest share of its budget has been dedicated to the sector every year.
Earlier, the Delhi government had initiated a special audit to investigate allegations of financial irregularities at the 12 colleges
The Directorate of Audit has constituted an eight-member team to undertake the exercise and directed the Directorate of Higher Education to instruct the colleges to make all necessary records available to the audit team.
The action came after a 10-member DU panel constituted to look into the allegations gave a clean chit to the colleges.
Last December, Ms. Atishi, as the Delhi Education Minister, had written to the Union Education Minister, citing “several serious irregularities and procedural lapses involving hundreds of crores” in the colleges.
Ms. Atishi had suggested that the Centre either direct the university to disaffiliate the 12 colleges, following which the Delhi government would bring them under its control, or that the colleges remain affiliated with DU with the Centre taking full responsibility of funding them.
The 12 institutions that have been fully funded by the Delhi government are Acharya Narendra Dev College, Aditi Mahavidyalaya, Bhagini Nivedita College, Bhaskaracharya College, Deen Dayal Upadhyaya College, Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar College, Indira Gandhi Institute of Physical Education and Sports Sciences, Keshav Mahavidyalaya, Maharaja Agrasen College, Maharshi Valmiki College, Shaheed Rajguru College and Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies.
Published – October 14, 2024 12:43 am IST