[lang_en]Shimla: Students outfits have come out in support of financial troubles of St Bede’s and other private colleges whose grants have been reduced by the government, saying that they would take to agitations unless the original grants are not restored
Shikha Chauhan, president Students Central Association HPU contested the governments contention that the grants had been reduced on account of a High Courts ruling.
Quoting from the judgment she said, nowhere in the order has a binding on grants been imposed by the court. If fact it has permitted the government to grant special relaxations in awarding grants wherever it should think it fit to, said Chauhan.
“We ask the government to restore the grants for St Bede’s college and three other private colleges, who have recruited staff on the basis of grants that the government has earlier committed to devolve for running of these institutions”, she said. Raising of fees was not desirable as it deprives a lot of deserving students opportunities of studying in good colleges, she added.
Students from the affected colleges and from other institutions would be writing individual letters to chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal urging him to restore the financial viability of these colleges, she said.
Lead by the university SCA, the students would formally take out a rally on November 4 and submit a memorandum to the government about the grants needed to keep reputed institutions functional.
Unless the government restores the grants to these private colleges, the students community would be forced to resort to start a agitation, said Chauhan.
With the government having reduced grants to St Bede’s, an all women’s college and three other private colleges from 95 to 50 percent, management of the over hundred year old Christian institution have asked the college authorities to draw up plans to close it down because it had become financially unviable to operate under the given conditions.[/lang_en]
As Editor, Ravinder Makhaik leads the team of media professionals at Hill Post.
In a career spanning over two decades through all formats of journalism in Electronic, Print and Online Media, he brings with him enough experience to steer this platform. He lives in Shimla.
