India News | DU College Principals Deny Allegations of Misappropriation of Funds

New Delhi, Nov 7 (PTI) Principals of Delhi University colleges fully funded by the city government on Saturday denied allegations of misappropriation of funds and violation of UGC norms.

A special audit of seven Delhi University colleges funded by the Delhi government has revealed serious financial irregularities and violation of UGC norms, showing that despite having surplus funds the salaries of staff have not been released, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia had said on Friday.

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Sisodia, who is also Delhi's Education Minister, had said the government was exploring legal proceedings on the basis of the audit, which was conducted following repeated allegations by the colleges that the city government was withholding funds.

"The colleges are following all the rules and regulations as laid down by university and revised from time to time. All purchases are done through e-procurement portals. All the expenses are made with the approval of the Governing Bodies. The allegations of corruption are unfounded and baseless and denied," the Delhi University Prinicpals' Association said in a statement.

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"In the university the teachers are marking attendance of students. Each time a teacher meets his classes, his attendance is marked automatically. Many colleges have adopted virtual platforms to take attendance of the students. On the basis of this attendance the marks of internal assessment are given. The signed copy of these attendance sheets are submitted to the college and the university" it said.

The statement further said due to the pandemic teachers are taking online classes using their own ICT resources, adding the allegation that there is no system of attendance and existence of ghost employee is "unfounded" and "reflects poor understanding of university affairs by the education minister of Delhi government".

The colleges that were audited following the order of the high court are Deen Dayal Upadhyaya College, Keshav Mahavidyalaya, Shaheed Sukhdev College, Bhagini Nivedita College, and Maharishi Valmiki college.

Sisodia had claimed that Aditi Mahavidyalaya and Lakshmibai College refused to allow the audit to be carried out despite the order.

As per the audit, total unauthorised payments made out by these colleges from 2017 to 2020 are -- Deen Dayal Upadhyaya College (49.88 crores), Keshav Mahavidyalaya (29.84 crores), Shaheed Sukhdev College (16.52 crores), Bhagini Nivedita College (17.23 crores), and Maharishi Valmiki college (10.64 crores). PTI GJS

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