New UP state university appoints Lokpal; rolls out student health insurance, low-fee model

Shahjahanpur (UP): A newly established state university in Uttar Pradesh has introduced a series of governance and student welfare initiatives, including the appointment of an independent ombudsman, comprehensive health insurance for all students and a lower-fee structure. The novel initiatives are part of a model that the varsity authorities say could improve transparency and accessibility in higher education.

Swami Shukdevanand University, which recently began functioning after being granted university status on May 8, has also announced plans to introduce engineering, management, agriculture, health sciences and foreign language programmes, reducing the need for students from Shahjahanpur and the neighbouring districts to move elsewhere for higher education.

Ombudsman to oversee grievances across affiliated colleges

Vice Chancellor Pushpendra Bahadur Singh on Friday told PTI that more than 46 colleges in the district have been affiliated to the university. To strengthen institutional accountability, the university has appointed Prof A K Sarkar as its ombudsman. The ombudsman will hear complaints related to teaching, fee collection and other academic and administrative matters not only at the university but also across all affiliated colleges.

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"The ombudsman will function independently and even complaints against the vice chancellor can be examined," Singh said, claiming that only a handful of universities in the state have made such appointments. He said the university has also adopted an affordability-focused approach by keeping academic course fees around 40 per cent lower and professional course fees about 20 per cent lower than those charged by many universities in the state.

In another initiative, every student admitted to the university will be covered under an insurance scheme providing medical benefits during the course of study as well as financial assistance in the event of death. "Unlike conventional student insurance schemes that mainly provide compensation after an accident or death, our model also includes healthcare benefits," Singh said.

Engineering, management PG courses coming soon

The vice chancellor said the university would soon launch postgraduate professional programmes in engineering, management, agriculture and health sciences, besides introducing foreign language courses that are currently unavailable in the district. The university has also adopted a single-registration model under which applicants will pay one registration fee while being allowed to choose up to five constituent schools, instead of paying separate application fees for each programme.

District Magistrate Dharmendra Pratap Singh said the university already has a vice chancellor, registrar and finance officer in place. It has been formed by integrating educational institutions functioning at the Mumukshu Ashram campus, including two intermediate colleges, a Sanskrit college, a degree college and a law college.

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Singh said the university has already constituted 10 functional cells and more than 25 committees to ensure smooth administration and implementation of academic programmes. The university also plans to adopt two villages where it will provide educational support to children after school hours as part of its community outreach programme.

Veena Mishra, principal of Great Scholars College, one of the affiliated rural institutions, said the establishment of the university would improve academic administration and provide students access to new professional courses within the district. University media cell head Vikas Khurana said the institution is expected to contribute not only to the region's educational development but also to its economic, cultural and social growth.