AMU Teachers' Association to discuss grant allocation issue at executive committee meet

ALIGARH: The Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) Teachers' Association (AMUTA) has convened a meeting of its executive committee on Friday to discuss the issue of the reported "steep decline" in the allocation of development grant to the varsity in the past five years.

Secretary of AMUTA Najmul Islam told PTI that in the wake of the concerns raised at AMU, teachers would like to discuss the situation and then formulate their response and then convey the same to the authorities concerned. The AMU authorities on Thursday sought to allay apprehensions on the allocation of grants, saying the university has approached the central government on this matter and is "vigorously pursuing the matter". AMU spokesman Shafey Kidwai sought to play down the issue, saying while the general annual grant for development projects had gone down, this shortfall would be partially compensated by funds provided by the Higher Education Funding Agency (HEFA), which have been applied for by the university.

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A senior AMU official confirmed that the general grant for development projects (which includes new construction and repair and maintenance) in the annual budget which stood at Rs 19 crore per annum in the year 2017-18 has now dipped to Rs 9.5 crore. When contacted, AMU Vice Chancellor Tariq Mansoor pointed out that this cut in allocation was across the board for all central universities during the pandemic lockdown and not just the AMU.